


Bound

by EgoStorm



Series: Demons [2]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Demon!AU, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, M/M, On AFF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-01
Updated: 2016-05-05
Packaged: 2018-05-24 05:44:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 14
Words: 41,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6143380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EgoStorm/pseuds/EgoStorm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mingyu, a great demon, is forced to make a contract with a human boy. He wants nothing more than the contract to be fulfilled quickly, but what happens when the demon starts to develop feelings for the human?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Contract

Kim Mingyu was a name that brought upon awe and fear in the demon world. He was powerful, and his great powers only came second to the Demon Lord, Hong Jisoo. No one dared go against him, nor would they speak ill of him behind his back. As feared as he was, he was also extremely respected. Even if someone did not recognize him as he walked by, his majestic features were enough of an indicator to show that he was not to be messed with. He had silky black hair, and sharp red eyes, a common feature of higher level demons. His teeth were beautifully menacing, with sharp canines. His wings were also very beautiful. Demon wings were not all the same, and Mingyu’s were a rare kind. They were so large that the tips would drag on the floor somewhat, and they were covered in silky, black feathers. Feathers were very unusual for demon wings, as most were either full of shiny obsidian scales, or were bare like leather. His wings were what made him stand out the most appearance-wise. Otherwise, it was his extremely charismatic aura that made other demons look his way.

 

Mingyu, being a high class demon, spent most of his time in the demon world. Others would have to frequently go to the human world to carry out tasks, such as granting humans wishes for their souls, conjure up natural disasters, or lulling people to their deaths. Many humans find demons as evil, and most demons are fine with that, but demons play an important role in balancing life in the human world. The human world can only support so much life, but humans tend to ignore that and reproduce at their own will, and quickly threaten to overpopulate the world. For that reason, demons, for the sake of the world, bring death upon people. As horrible as it seems to humans, demons are a necessity for the world.

 

When people die, their souls get taken from their bodies. People who die from the work of demons end up having their souls taken to the underworld, while people who die naturally, from sickness or accidents or old age, had their souls taken to heaven. Although humans tend to hint otherwise, accidents and sickness are not the work of demons, and are really just chance occurrences. That is why the souls that die this way are taken by angels. Because the death was not caused by a demon. Angels do not have the ability, nor the will, to bring death to people, so they take the souls from humans that died not by demon hands. It doesn’t make much of a difference where their souls ended up, but that was just the agreement made by Jisoo and the archangel in heaven.

 

While Mingyu often stayed in the underworld, Jisoo sometimes had to go to the human world or heaven to check that things are in balance. Then he would issue commands based on what he observed. Usually while he was away, Mingyu would take charge of the underworld. However, Mingyu wasn’t always as serious as Jisoo was. For the week Jisoo went to the human world, Mingyu was especially bored. More so than usual. He never made any commands when he was in charge of the underworld, but he found himself suddenly curious of what it would be like to command so many underlings. He decided that he wanted to try something, but nothing huge. He didn’t want Jisoo to notice, after all.

 

So what was it that the great Mingyu did? He issued a command to whip up a small typhoon in Japan. Nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing too deadly. If someone gets swept up in the tides, then so be it. Mingyu observed his work in action through a looking glass that he conjured. It was great. Even though it was only a small storm, Mingyu felt mightier than usual. That is, until he heard Jisoo, who wasn’t supposed to some back until the day after.

 

“KIM MINGYU WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?”

 

Mingyu slowly turned to see his leader, furious. His red eyes glowed more than Mingyu had ever seen them to.

 

“My lord, it was just a small storm…”

 

“What? Did you think I wouldn’t notice a storm that I didn’t intend for? What were you thinking? I carefully plan these things, you know? I don’t just make natural disasters happen when I feel like it. Why do you think I have to meet with the archangel Seokmin all the time? Do you think we're just having a tea party or something? Mingyu…”

 

“I.. I didn’t know, my lord.. I apologize…”

 

Jisoo sighed and brought a hand up to his temple, massaging what seemed like a sudden headache.

 

“Do you know how much this messes up my plans? Mingyu, Now I have to make new plans with the archangel to clean up your mess..”

 

“I’m sorry, my lord. I will accept whatever punishment you give me.”

 

Jisoo closed his eyes, his hand still at his temple. He contemplated on a suitable punishment for his actions, but took into consideration his own lack of judgement.

 

“Alright, alright. It’s not like you did it on purpose. It’s not like I never told you not to do something like this, I just assumed you wouldn’t. Out of common sense or something..”

 

“So, you’ll forgive me?” Mingyu’s eyes lit up in gratitude.

 

“No, I may understand somewhat, but I can’t let it slide… You… Make a contract with the next human that completes a summoning. And make sure you collect his soul.”  
  
“WHAT?”

 

Jisoo looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

 

“I’m sorry. Can you repeat that?” Mingyu asked more calmly.

 

“You heard me. Fulfill a contract with a human”

 

“But, my lord, that’s a job for the lower level demons-”

 

“You heard me. No questions. This is your punishment.”  
  
“But-”

 

“Go now. Maybe it will help you clear your head.”

 

“... as you wish….”

 

Mingyu went to where the portals to the human world were. Surrounding them were lower level demons, all waiting for a summoning to occur. Fights often broke out in front of them, to claim the contract, since it was a way to increase your ranking as a demon. Making a contract with a human was the slowest way to collect souls, but it was also the only way for the lesser demons. Mid-ranked demons were the ones that caused small storms to collect souls, and higher demons created the more devastating natural disasters. Of course, none of them could do it without Jisoo’s command. Once a demon reached the greatest of ranks, they were in charge of different groups of demons, and no longer had to collect souls.. While Jisoo was in charge of all of the demons, Mingyu was in charge of the elites. No demon could replace their ranks, until there was a high number of dissatisfaction with the leadership and lack of efficiency. As the two were highly respected and extremely efficient, they would likely be replaced only when they retire.

 

Mingyu was unhappy with his punishment because it was a job that belonged to the lowest of the lowest ranks of demons, and may take years to complete. He thought it was too harsh for what he did, but maybe what he did was worse than he thought.

 

As the lesser demons saw Mingyu approaching, they made a path for him and kneeled with respect. It was very unusual for someone of his rank to be there, but none had the courage to ask why he appeared before them.

 

“I don’t care who was next in line, the next summoning is mine.”

 

The demons looked at each other in confusion.

 

“Don’t ask,” said Mingyu sternly.

 

Just then, one of the portals illuminated waves of intricate colors, indicating that a human was attempting to summon a demon.

 

“I guess that’s my cue..” Mingyu sighed. He wanted to get this over with quickly, but who knows who long it would take? Depending on the request, it could take a few hours, or it could take years. He braced himself and chanted some words to accept the summoning before he stepped into the portal. He felt himself being launched through dimensions. It was a sensation he had long forgotten, and did not miss.

 

He took a step forward into the human world and looked around. He was in a room where there were white walls, and the smell of antiseptic. He squinted at the blindingly bright lights above him. There were sharp, steady beeping noises, and he glanced over to see where the noise was coming from. There was a figure on a white bed, five feet away from him, hooked up to several large objects through cords. It was an eerie place. The lack of color was uncomfortable.

 

“I can’t believe it worked…” said a low voice.

 

Mingyu turned around to see a boy looking up at him with an astonished expression, kneeling on the ground only two feet away from him. His hand was touching the floor, at the edge of the summoning circle that he seems to have drawn on the tile. The circle disappeared shortly, as it had been used. Mingyu squinted at the boy. He was probably in his late teens or early adulthood in human years. The demon was annoyed by just looking at him. It was some brat that had summoned Mingyu? He did not look forward to granting this boy’s wishes.

 

“Look kid, today’s your lucky day. Not everyone ever gets to see such a high class demon. Whatever you want, I can grant with ease compared to the other guys. You’re almost guaranteed to get anything you want. There’s only one thing you have to understand before we do this. We demons can’t give life, and we can’t bring someone back from the dead, got it? Now that we got that out of the way, what do you want? I don’t want this to take long.”

 

The boy looked disappointed by his words. He put a hand on his knee to hoist himself up, and then looked over at the bed. His face scrunched up in worry.

 

“You can’t give life, huh?”

 

“Is that what you wanted? Well I can’t grant you that. I guess we’re finished here.”

 

Mingyu was about to conjure a spell to take himself home. He figured he spent enough time here already.

 

“Wait!”

 

The boy grabbed Mingyu’s arm with both hands and looked up with pleading eyes.

 

“Is there any way you can wake a patient in a coma?”

 

Mingyu paused, taking in the boy’s words, then scoffed.

 

“Are you kidding? Piece of cake. Don’t tell me that’s what you want?”

 

The boy nodded.

 

“You want to seal a contract with me so you can wake a patient from a comatose state? Do you even know what you would be giving up for such a small reward?”

 

“It’s not a small reward! It would mean everything to me if you could just do this one thing.”

 

Mingyu looked over at the figure in the bed, then back to the the boy still holding onto his hand. He shook the boy’s hands away.

 

“Do what you want.”

 

The boy smiled, relieved and thankful.

 

“I’m Wonwoo. What’s your name?”

 

“I’m none other than the great Kim Mingyu. Remember the name kid. You should be honored to even hear it.”

 

He walked over to the comatose patient. As he got closer, he saw that the patient was a young male. He didn’t look related to Wonwoo.

 

“Who is this? Why are you so desperate for him to wake up?”

 

Mingyu wasn’t that interested in hearing Wonwoo’s tale, but he was curious as to why he wanted to help this person.

 

Wonwoo looked at Mignyu, then at the unconscious patient.

 

“His name is Seungcheol. He’s my… my love…”

 

Mingyu became annoyed once again.

 

“What? You want to surrender your soul for that sake of your lover? Of all the things it could have been, really? Don’t make me laugh. You can easily just find someone else. It shouldn’t be that hard. Really, just give up on the guy, is he really worth-

 

“Shut up! What would you know? There’s no way you would understand...”

 

This was definitely efficient in making Mingyu shut up. For eight seconds at least.

 

“Wh-what did you say? You measley human! Do you know who you’re speaking to?”

 

“You made it very clear who you are, and I’m making it very clear that I want you to shut up.”

 

Wonwoo glared at him in a way that made it hard for him to talk back. Even Jisoo rarely made him feel this way. Just who was he to make Mingyu cower?

 

Mingyu awkwardly laughed. He suddenly remembered that he had not yet made a contract with the boy and didn’t want to go through much trouble. He wanted to get his punishment over with as soon as possible.

 

“Ok I get it, fine. You want me to wake him up? I’ll wake him up.  Just make a contract with me.”

 

Wonwoo looked surprised at first, but then his expression softened.

 

“Okay.. how do I do that?”

 

“You humans, always asking for a contract with demons but never knowing anything about it…”

 

Mingyu chanted some words to bring up an enchanted circle. It glowed on the floor of the hospital room, where the summoning circle had been previously.

 

“So basically, you and I step into that circle over there. I make my mark on you and say some magic words, and your soul is bound to me. Once I grant your wish, your soul is promised to me. Your life is cut short depending on a lot of things. You wish can cut off a year, or maybe ten years. In your case, it depends on how long your lover was supposed to have stayed in a coma.”

 

Wonwoo blushed slightly. “H-he’s my love… not my lover…”

 

Mingyu rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Anyways, you can keep on making wishes, and you life would just keep getting shorter. Once you’re bound to me, you can never be unbound. I can only collect your soul once your life ends. That’s all you need to know. You’re sure you want to give up year off of your life for that human?”

 

Wonwoo didn’t hesitate to answer.

 

“I’ll do whatever it takes.”

 

Mingyu sighed. How many times was that today?

 

“Alright, let’s do this.”

 

Mingyu stepped into the circle and Wonwoo followed. Mingyu turned around so that the two were face to face. He looked into Wonwoo’s eyes, and his own started to glow a fiery red. He began his incantation, keeping eye contact with his soon-to-be master. Wonwoo’s eyes stayed locked on Mingyu’s, as he was unable to look away. His own eyes glowed slightly, a dark purple. A side-effect of the spell. Their surroundings were darkening, and the circle glowed with more intensity. When Mingyu finished reciting the incantation, he grabbed the nape of Wonwoo’s neck and pulled him in for a kiss. Before Wonwoo could react, he felt a strange sensation inside his body. He couldn’t quite tell what it was, or where the sensation was coming from, but as soon as it began, it was over. Mingyu released him, and the circle disappeared. Their surroundings returned to normal, and Wonwoo stepped back, covering his mouth with the back of his hand.

 

“What the hell was that for?”

 

“Oh, you mean this kiss?” Mingyu wiped his lips. “You didn’t know? It’s how you seal the contract. It’s how I mark your soul.”

 

Wonwoo looked angry and flustered. For some reason Mingyu enjoyed the sight.

 

“Don’t tell me that was your first?” Mingyu smirked condescendingly.

 

“Shut up.”

 

Mingyu laughed. It gave him great joy to look down upon the boy.

 

“Well now that we are bound by contract, what is your first command?”

 

“You already know what it is, must I say it again?”

 

“Just wanted to make sure you’re still sure about this.”  
 

“I’ve told you 300 times that I’m sure. Go on with it.”

 

“Insolent human…”  
 

Wonwoo crossed his arms at the comment.

 

“Are all demons so slow at their job?”

 

Mingyu glared at Wonwoo.

 

“You dare insult me?”

 

“Am I not your master?”

 

“... fine”

 

Mingyu walked to Seungcheol, where he lie peacefully. Seungcheol breathed slowly and lightly, looking only as if he were deep asleep. His cheekbones were prominent from his cheeks being sunken in. Mingyu stared for a little bit, wondering how long he was unconscious like this for.

 

“It’s been three years,” said Wonwoo behind him.

 

Mingyu looked at Wonwoo, slightly impressed that he was able to love Seungcheol after all those years. Only slightly impressed though. Slightly.

 

He turned back to the patient and closed his eyes. He felt powers originating from deep in his core making its way to his hands. He raised his hands over Seungcheol’s body and focused his energy to the human in front of him. He could feel the heat radiating from his hands and a small smile formed on his face. He kept his eyes closed, but he could imagine Wonwoo next to him being in awe at this very moment.

 

After a short moment of Mingyu performing his task, he opened his eyes and lowered his hands.

 

“Did it work?” Wonwoo asked, as Seungcheol was not yet awake.

 

“Patience, human.”

 

Just then, the two heard a small groan coming from Seungcheol. Wonwoo’s head snapped towards his direction, and he gasped when he saw Seungcheol’s hands twitch, trying to grab something. Wonwoo took the hand and grasped it with great care, still watching his face. Seungcheol opened his eyes halfway, and then squeezed them shut. He opened them again slowly, all the way, and blinked several times. He looked up at the ceiling, then around the room, and finally at Wonwoo, who was tears running down his face.

 

“Seungcheol, Seungcheol, Seungcheol.”

 

“Hmm? Where am I?”

 

Wonwoo let go of Seungcheol’s hand and hugged him as best as he could, despite the awkward positions they were in.

 

“I can’t believe it, you’re finally awake. I missed you so much, Seungcheol.”

 

“What happened? Wonwoo, tell me.” Seungcheol wrapped an arm around the boy.

 

By now Wonwoo was bawling, but tried to speak anyways. He hiccupped at every other phrase, and gave up grammar altogether.

 

“You were riding *hic*…. motorcycle and *hic*… truck hit you *hic*… coma*hic*… I thought you would *hic*... die… I came *hic*.. everyday *hic*.. three years *hic*… Cheol…” once he figured he got his message across, he buried his face into Seungcheol’s chest and cried even harder.

 

Just then, a couple of nurses came barging in the room. This is when Wonwoo suddenly remembered the demon standing behind him and realized he should probably explain what he was doing there.

 

“Um, please *hic*... don’t mind *hic*... this guy,” he said, still hiccuping. “I can *hic*... explain, uh, um, he’s *hic*... just…. huh?”

 

The nurses completely ignored Mingyu and rushed over to Seungcheol.

 

“He’s awake! Call for a doctor! How are you feeling Seungcheol? Do you have any pain or dizziness? Do you know your name?”

 

“I.. think I’m okay. I know who I am, Choi Seungcheol.”

 

Wonwoo stood astonished that they rushed past Mingyu without giving him a second glance. Or a first for that matter. Especially with his large feathered wings. Was it possible that… they couldn’t see him?  
 

“Don’t look so surprised, you’re the only one who can see me right now. There are a lot of demons in the human world, but humans can’t see them. The fact that you summoned me gave you the ability to see me, but I’m the only demon you will be able to see.”

 

“Ah…”

 

“So that means I can follow you around without having to worry about other people. Of course, I can make myself visible any time I want, but that would mean having to use my powers. Not that I can’t do it, but it would be too much of a hassle for something so useless.”

 

“Wait... what?”

 

“It’s really a simple matter. I can change my appearance to look human too.”

 

“No, not that… you’re going to follow me?”

 

“Oh.”

 

Mingyu chuckled.

 

“Usually after a wish has been granted, a demon can leave until it’s time to collect the soul they were promised, or if the human calls them again to grant another wish, but due to some unfortunate incident, I can’t go back to the demon world until I collect your soul…”

 

“So that means…”

 

“That means I’ll be following you around and granting your wishes until your life force runs out,” he said with a sly grin.  
 

“Why didn’t you tell me that earlier?” asked Wonwoo angrily.

 

“Because then you might not have sealed a contract with me. Summonings are actually quite rare, you know. If I waited for the next human to summon a demon, who knows how long that would have taken? I wanted to get this done as soon as possible”

 

Wonwoo became noticeably irritated, his eyebrows furrowed and his chest puffed out.

 

“Look kid, I granted your wish. You should be grateful. What’s your problem?”

 

“The problem, oh mighty one, is that you withheld information from me. Important information, might I add! I didn’t think you would be sticking around until the day I died! Do you know how long that is?”

 

“Well that’s too bad. If you make another wish or two, the time will come a lot faster.”

 

“How about, I don’t make another wish again? Go find some other human to bother.”

 

Wonwoo puffed air out of his lungs quickly. Being busy arguing with the demon in front of him, he hadn’t realized that the nurses were finished with Seungcheol by now, and that Seungcheol was watching him with curiosity.

 

“Wonwoo.. are you okay?” Seungcheol asked

 

Wonwoo turned back to Seungcheol, and his anger dissipated immediately.

 

“Seungcheol,” he said softly.

 

“Oh don’t mind me, you seem to be deep in conversation with yourself,” Seungcheol joked.

 

Wonwoo chuckled. “Must be a side effect of having no one to talk to all these years.”

 

Seungcheol frowned at the comment, taking it more seriously than Wonwoo intended. “You were lonely without me, weren’t you?”

 

The light reflected in Seungcheol’s eyes as they began to water.

 

Wonwoo panicked and rushed back to Seungcheol’s side.

 

“No, it’s okay. As long as you’re fine now... everything’s alright...”

  
Wonwoo pulled Seungcheol’s head to his chest, and the two of them cried silently.


	2. Welcome to the Human World

Mingyu was annoyed. Very annoyed. Not only was he unable to return to the underworld because he had not yet finished his task, but his bound human, Wonwoo, wouldn’t let him inside his house… even though Mingyu had walked (followed) him all the way there. Mingyu wasn’t the type to beg, so he reluctantly abided to Wonwoo’s command. If the human wasn’t going to let him in, then so be it.

 

“The damn brat doesn’t know how to appreciate the favor I did for him. Does he even understand his luck? To be bound to me? How dare he refuse to let me in...” he muttered angrily.

 

He was wandering for a while, cooling down his anger, traveling to no place in particular. Without realizing it, hours had passed, and it was now dark. From this, and finally noticing his exhaustion, Mingyu decided he should sleep… but where? He could technically enter any house he wished, since none of its occupants would be able to even realize he was there. However, Mingyu was a demon with manners. Why else did he comply with Wonwoo’s refusal to let him inside?

 

Though, if Mingyu wanted to be let inside somehow, he would have to become visible to humans. He found a park, where there were no humans around. He scanned his surroundings to make sure, since it would be problematic if someone were to see what would happen next. He closed his eyes and turned his palms up to chant a spell. He could feel the wind rustle around him as he turned his body human, and at the same time, make it visible to the human eye. It felt strange, since he hadn’t done it for such a long time. He felt naked without the presence of his characteristic wings by his sides. Even though he knew his powers were still there, he felt weakened by the mere change in appearance. His body was mostly the same as before, but his red eyes turned dark brown, his canines were shortened, his face structure softened, and his wings disappeared. It wasn’t an appearance he was fond of, but it would have to do.

 

“Whoa! How did you do that?”

 

Mingyu’s head snapped to where he heard the voice. Had someone seen him?

 

But there was no one there. Mingyu looked left and right and couldn’t see a human anywhere.

 

“Up here!” the same voice shouted.

 

Mingyu looked up and spotted a waving hand. Then the human attached to that hand. It was a bright-eyed boy sitting on a tree branch, smiling as he continued to wave his hand. The demon had not expected that a human would be up in a tree, so he didn’t bother to check if there were any there.

 

The human boy descended from the tree. As he jumped off the last branch, he landed on his feet, but lost balance and fell onto his rear. He got up and patted the dirt away, and then jogged lightly to reach Mingyu, who was debating on whether or not he should make himself disappear again.

 

“Do that again!” the boy exclaimed.

 

Mingyu decided to just talk out if the situation. He didn’t want to bother using his powers again.

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

“You just appeared out of thin air! Are you a magician?”

 

Mingyu’s eyebrow twitched at the question.

 

“Magicians are nothing but tricksters. They merely show you illusions. Don’t compare me to someone who shows off fake powers.”

 

“So you’re a _real_ magician?”

 

Something snapped inside Mingyu, and his rationality melted away. He wasn’t supposed to reveal himself to humans other than the one he is bound to, but he couldn’t keep it inside.

 

“Look here, kid. I’m not a magician. I’m a powerful demon. I can do a lot more than appear and disappear. Look, I can make fire come from my hands.”

 

He opened his palm and a bright flame burst from it. The boy didn’t look as shocked as Mingyu would have liked. Instead, he crossed his arms and looked straight up at the demon.

 

“Other magicians can do that too. I bet you’re just trying to sell yourself now.”

 

Mingyu swore he could feel a vein pop.

 

“Fine then. I can make it rain too. Look at the clear night sky. You can see the stars, right? Now I’m going to bring in clouds and make it rain.”

 

Soon enough, the sky did as Mingyu predicted, covering the stars with shadowy clouds, and a light drizzle fell upon them. The boy, however, was still not convinced.

 

“So you can predict the weather. Cool. You’re a weatherman magician then?”

 

Frustrated at being called a magician, Mingyu transformed himself into his demon form again, while still keeping his visibility. His dark eyes returned red, his canines extended, his facial features became more defined, and his majestic wings appeared behind him. He opened them forcefully, creating a gust and shedding some feathers, and the large wings were fully spanned out. He looked back down at the boy with an arrogant smirk.

 

“Believe me now?”

 

He expected the boy to cower and run away, but instead, he was examining Mingyu with fascination with wide eyes.

 

“I knew it! So you’re really a demon? That’s so cool! Can I touch your wings?”

 

He was already extending his hand to stroke them, not waiting for an answer.

 

Mingyu’s smirk faltered and was replaced by a small frown. He pulled away before the boy’s hand made contact with his wing.

 

“You’re not afraid?”

 

“Why would I be? This is so cool! I’ve never met a real demon before! What’s your name? I’m Hansol!”

 

The boy offered a hand for Mingyu to shake. The same one that failed to touch his wing. But the demon just looked at it and then simply crossed his arms.

 

“Mingyu. The great demon.”

 

Hansol awkwardly took back his hand and fixed the back of his hair with it, then shoved it in his pocket.

 

“Well then, Mingyu. What’s a great demon like you doing here?”

 

It was then that Mingyu remembered his circumstances. The unfortunate events of the day. He sighed, yet again.

 

“I was summoned here by some ungrateful human to grant his wish, which I did, but for some reason he won’t let me inside his house, and I have nowhere to sleep. And I at least have the decency to only go in someone’s place only if they allow me. And since humans can’t see me, it’s not like they can let me in. So I decided to turn my body human and ask someone to let me in. It’s not like anyone can resist my charm, so it wouldn’t be that hard to get someone to welcome me inside. And then _you_ just happened to see me because you were up in a tree, and now I’m explaining myself to you and… wait a minute… You’re a human, and I’m sure you have a house of some sort. Now that you know all about me, why don’t let me in your place for the night?”

 

“Hmm? My place? Sure!”

 

“Or else I’ll… what? You’ll let me?”

 

“Yeah, I have my own apartment not too far from here. I’ll let you stay. How many people can say that a demon slept at their house, huh?”

 

“O-of course you would have let me in.” Mingyu cleared his throat. “Let’s go there now. It’s late.”

 

“Sure, but do you think you can get it to stop raining first? And maybe dry us off?”

 

Mingyu looked up at the clouds and remembered it was still raining. He quickly made the clouds disappear, allowing the stars to shine through once again. He then removed the water from his and Hansol’s clothing, and lastly, he returned to his human form. Hansol had been staring in fascination at the entire process. Mingyu motioned for him to lead the way to his home.

 

“This is just so cool! I could get used to being friends with you,” said Hansol with a bright smile. He was almost prancing his way to his house.

 

“Ha, if you think that you, a mere human, can call me your friend, think again. I have hundreds of years on you. Don’t think that you can call me your friend even once in your lifetime,” Mingyu scoffed.

 

“That’s okay. As long as we get to hang out sometimes. If you need a place to sleep, you can some to my place for as long as you want. Maybe do some cool tricks in return.”

 

“They’re not tricks…” Mingyu muttered under his breath.

 

Before long, they were in front of a door. Hansol took out a key to unlock it, and opened the door wide.

 

“Home sweet home,” he said. He walked in, took off his shoes, and then gestured for Mingyu to enter.

 

Mingyu didn’t have shoes, so he just walked right in.

 

Hansol turned on a few lights as he walked further into the house. Mingyu followed him, glancing around to observe his surroundings. Hansol stopped at a room. “And here is where you can sleep. Nice, huh? I actually had a roommate not that long ago, but he moved out because he suddenly got rich. Turns out he had a super rich grandpa that he never knew about until some lawyer came to him with his will. He inherited almost everything because he was the only grandchild he had. So he moved to a much nicer place. But he still pays for his share of rent in this place, which is why I can still live here, and why you can sleep here. This bedroom used to be his.”

 

“That’s… good for him, I guess,” said Mingyu, not really caring. It had been a long day, and there was nothing more he wanted than to sleep.

 

Hansol, noticing the lack of response from him, got the message.

 

“Okay, I guess I’ll let you go then. If you need anything, my bedroom is right next door,” Hansol pointed down the hall. “Oh, and the bathroom is right across from my room.” he pivoted his arm to point at the door to the bathroom.

 

Mingyu hummed in acknowledgment and dragged his feet as he walked inside. Hansol noticed his fatigue and closed the door quietly. Once he did, Mingyu flopped himself onto the bed. It was much softer than the beds in the demon world. He wondered what it was made of. That was the last thought he had before falling asleep.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Mingyu woke up to muffled noises. He squeezed his eyes shut to try to ignore the noise. What was it? It sounded like people’s voices. They were yelling. Arguing. And there were… explosions?

 

His eyes opened quickly and he raced out of his room to find the source of the noise, ready for battle. His hands glowed in preparation to launch an attack when he found Hansol in a room, sitting, looking calm.

 

“Hansol, what are you doing? Don’t you hear the explosions? We’re being attacked!”

 

Hansol froze at the unexpected sight, partially panicked because of Mingyu’s glowing hands, and partially from forgetting that he had a guest over in the first place. When he processed what was in front of him, he burst into hysterical laughter.

 

Mingyu was confused. Why was he laughing when there was a danger somewhere?

 

“Dude, that’s just the TV, it’s just an image,” said Hansol, trying to calm himself down. He pointed to the object in front of him. “That’s a TV. Have you not seen one before?”

 

The demon followed his finger to the flat, rectangular frame-like object. It was definitely where the noise was coming from. He lowered his hand and observed. It was strange. It was similar to the looking glass in the demon world that allowing him to see events happening in the human world. Only this was much larger, and much louder. It was a much clearer picture. Since when did humans obtain this kind of power?

 

“What is happening? Where is that?”

 

“It takes place in China, and right now, the villain is blowing everything up. It’s almost the climax of the movie. Do you want to watch?”

 

_Climax of the movie? What did that mean?_

 

Mingyu didn’t say a word, and simply went to sit with Hansol, not taking his eyes off of the TV. The humans they were observing had incredible agility, at least compared to what he remembered. They were fighting each other with their fists and feet, jumping and flipping along the way. One of them was particularly skilled, and was able to knock out anyone that approached him. But then, Mingyu noticed that one of the men did not make any contact with this particular man’s fist, but was sent flying anyways. Did humans possess some power within themselves that he did not know of?

 

“How did he do that?”

 

“Hmm? How did who do what?”  
 

Mingyu pointed to the man he was referring to.

 

“Him. How did he knock that guy out without touching him? Is there some sort of power he has? Like a force or something?”

 

“What?”

 

Hansol looked back at the TV and watched the series of fights happening.

 

“Oh. OH!”

 

He started laughing hysterically for the second time that morning. He placed a hand on his stomach and slapped his knee, and his face turned pink.

 

“I’m sorry, I forget you’re not from this world. I guess I should have mentioned that this the TV isn’t showing real life. It’s a movie. It’s all just acting. Which gets recorded by cameras, and then the final product is shown on TV. It’s supposed to look as realistic as possible, but sometimes they make mistakes.”

 

Mingyu tried to understand as best as he could. When did the human world get so complicated? So much has changed since the last time he was here. He nodded to show that he was taking the information in.

 

“So.. none of it is real?”

 

“Nope. At least, not for this one. There are times they show real things though. It’s called the news, which shows us what’s going on in the real world so we can be up to date on important things. But movies are typically not real. They’re mostly for entertainment. There are some really cool ones though, that use computer graphics to create images that aren’t there but look real. We can watch one with them if you want!”

 

“Computer graphics?”

 

“Sorry, it’s hard to explain these things. How about we watch movies, and I’ll teach you about the human world with them?”

 

“Yeah, let’s do that..”

 

Mingyu ignored the fact that his mind was a boggled mess at the moment, and hoped that Hansol’s future explanations would be better, or that suddenly everything would make sense.

 

And so, the two of them spent the entire day watching movie after movie of different genres and origins. Mingyu slowly learned new things about the human world, appalled at how different it was compared to before. Though Hansol’s explanations were not always clear, he got the general gist of what he told him. And that is how Mingyu, the demon so far detached from the human world, learned so much about it in a single day.


	3. Not His Type

It had been a week since Mingyu started staying with Hansol. He didn’t intend to stay for longer than one night, but Hansol managed to convince him to stay for another night. Every night. For the next seven nights. During the day, Hansol would teach him more about the human world, including customs and current events. During the night, Hansol would convince Mingyu to tell him about the demon world, as well as the angel world once the demon mentioned it. Mingyu figured that the harm was already done, with him being discovered as a demon in the first place, so there was not much to lose if Hansol knew all about where he came from.

 

After the week had passed, Mingyu decided it was time to check up on his bound human to see if there was any way to get him to make more wishes. The human hadn’t called him, but that must be because he didn’t know how to summon his presence. Either that, or he was too stubborn to.

 

“It’s been good getting to know you, Mingyu. I hope you come back soon and visit me. If your bound human mate decides to kick you out, you know how to get here, right?”

 

“Hmph. Of course. You underestimate me.”

 

“I like having you around though…”

 

Hansol looked cheerful, but subtly disappointed. After all, his only company would be leaving, and who knows if he would ever actually come back?

 

“Hey, Mingyu. Do you think, that maybe, I could possibly, by chance… request a small thing from you?”

 

The demon was slightly taken aback, but accepted easily.

 

“Well, I suppose I owe you something for all that you’ve taught me. Demon’s aren’t supposed to grant wishes for anyone other than their bound partner, but I guess since you helped me, I’ll make an exception. I shall grant you one small wish. Got it?”

 

Hansol clasped his hands together and then his eyes sparkled. At least… they appeared to be sparkling due to how wide they became. Mingyu suddenly became wary.

 

“Hey, kid, don’t get too greedy… I said I would grant a small wish.”

 

Hansol nodded his head.

 

“Yeah, yeah, I heard what you said. Can I ask you now?”

 

Mingyu puffed out air in impatience. “Yes, why do you think I’m still here?”

 

“Then, then… you promise won’t take back your word?”

 

“Go on with it already.” Mingyu’s eyes squinted slightly, wondering if it was a bad idea to accept his request.

 

“Can I please call you my friend?”

 

This was not the kind of wish Mingyu was expecting. He didn’t expect it to be a request in which he would have to lower his pride. Why would a demon want to be friends with a human?

 

“W-wha?” The demon sputtered. “What do you think you’re asking of me? That’s no small request!”

 

“But Mingyu,” Hansol pouted. “It means you don’t have to use your powers to grant it. Doesn’t that make it a small wish?”

 

He hesitated, unable to come up with an argument. He looked down and brought a hand to his chin as he pondered. It was true that Hansol hadn’t been completely useless to have around. He could see himself benefitting from such a relationship.

 

“I… guess you have a point…”

 

He looked at Hansol again and saw the human begging with large, watery eyes, and lips jutted out slightly. He looked like a small, helpless animal.

 

“Very well. Do as you please. I will acknowledge that we are… friends… But only when we are alone, got it?”

 

Hansol leaped into the air and swung a fist at nothing in particular. His face brightened and his lips tugged into a wide smile.

 

“Really? Yes, this is so great! Thanks, friend!”

 

Mingyu flinched slightly at being called a friend of a human, but he held in any rebuttal, keeping his word that he would acknowledge their level of relationship, now defined as friendship.

 

Mingyu turned into his demon form again, and returned invisible to human eyes. However, he cast a spell on Hansol so that the boy would be able to see him regardless. It was only fair, since they had leveled up their relationship. What kind of friend would Mingyu be if he was always concealed from Hansol’s eyes, when the boy was clearly visible to him?

 

“I’ll be off now… human… friend…”

 

Hansol smiled and waved as the demon spread his wings.

 

“Good luck, my demon friend.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Mingyu flew off to find Wonwoo. He vaguely remembered where his house was, and headed in that direction. It wasn’t difficult to find, as he remembered it was located near a large building with a cross standing tall. A church, Mingyu now knew. He spotted it easily as he was in the air, and descended toward it. As he did, he felt a slight pulling sensation, indicating that his bound human was nearby. He closed his eyes to pay closer attention to the pull, and once he pinpointed the location of the bratty human, he nose dived to him.

 

“What the hell?” Wonwoo raised his arms to shield his face from dust flying everywhere due to a sudden, unnaturally strong gust of wind. He was holding plastic bags full of groceries, so when he held out his arms, the bags ended up battering him all around as they were swayed by the gust. He didn’t even have time to feel embarrassed about how stupid he must have looked, because not even a second passed when he heard a laughter from someone uncomfortably close to him.

 

He sharply turned his head at the irritating laughter and saw a face he prayed to never see again.

 

“You! What are you doing here?”

 

Mingyu’s laughter faded. “You? You should know better than to address me like that.”

 

Wonwoo sighed. “Oh right, I forgot. _Oh great wonderful lovely_ Mingyu... Why the hell are you here?”

 

The demon crossed his arms and scoffed, looking away from the human. “Nothing.”

 

He said it so nonchalantly irritatingly, and he could see Wonwoo’s lip twitch. Amusing.

 

“Oh really? Then mind leaving me alone?”

 

Wonwoo brushed past the demon, pacing quickly to reach his destination, but Mingyu knew where he was headed. With a swift flap of his wings, he made it to the door before Wonwoo even reached the gate of his own house. Wonwoo hadn’t noticed and just entered the property. He closed the gate, then hurried to the door, where he ran head first into Mingyu’s chest. He fell back a couple of steps and looked up before scowling once again.

 

“Ugh. Why won’t you just go away?”

 

“Remember, it was you who decided to seal the contract with me. I’m going to be around you whether you like it or not.”

 

“Oh yeah? What if I just wish you away? Can’t I do that?”

 

“Sure,” the demon smiled slyly. “That is, if you don’t mind giving up a few useless years of your life.”

 

Wonwoo hesitated, seriously considering his suggestion. But then he decided it wasn’t worth it, at least for now. He always had the option to change his mind later.

 

“Fine, you can come in. It’s not like I’m going to be staying long anyways. But just because I’m letting you in, doesn’t mean you’re welcome here, okay?”

 

Mingyu smirked in satisfaction and followed Wonwoo through the door. While Wonwoo went into the kitchen, Mingyu spotted a tv in the living room and made his way to the couch.

 

“Hey human, I’m going to use your tv!”

 

“Whatever. I’m going to be in the kitchen, so just do your own thing and don’t bother me.”

 

The demon seated himself on the couch and turned the tv on, watching whatever was on. Even though he had spent a week watching tv at Hansol’s place, he wasn’t tired of it. It was strangely addicting, and there were endless things to watch. He was quickly absorbed into what was on Wonwoo’s tv and lost track of time.

 

Mingyu had completely forgotten where he was, being too immersed in the show he was watching, until something caught his attention. It was a delectable mixture of smells, wafting his way. Without thinking, he wandered to find the source of the smell and found Wonwoo, and not Hansol like he unconsciously expected, in the kitchen. He looked at the counter and saw all kinds of food. It was a feast... but for who? It couldn’t be, but... was it perhaps, for Mingyu?

 

The demon cleared his throat, surprising Wonwoo. The boy looked up from the frying pan.

 

“What is it?”

 

“Are you planning to throw a party or something? What’s with all this food?”

 

Wonwoo looked at the counter at all the food he made, then back to the frying pan. He appeared to have been surprised at how much there was on the counter.

 

“No, I just… didn’t realize I made so much,” he said before muttering quietly to himself, “I must be crazy to have made so much for just one person...”

 

It was loud enough for Mingyu to hear though, as he had a heightened sense of hearing compared to humans.

 

“For one person? Is it for me?”

 

Wonwoo stared at Mingyu blankly. He blinked a few times before his face turned bitterly sarcastic.

 

“Please don’t tell me you’re serious… What would possess you to think I would have made all this for you?”

 

Mingyu scoffed. “Why wouldn’t you? You have a great demon as a guest in your house. It’s obvious that you should be throwing me a feast!”

 

“Right. Well, if it makes you happy, you can eat whatever I don’t end up taking. I’ll be leaving soon to give this to Seungcheol. Because that’s who it was intended for. Because I actually care about him.”

 

Mingyu crossed his arms and squinted, the corners of his lips descending into a grimace. “Him again? Why are you even doing this for him? I thought you said he didn’t even like you.”

 

“I said he doesn’t love me romantically, but he does love me, you know,” Wonwoo snapped, glaring at him.

 

“Tch, like he would love you with _that_ attitude. Actually, you know what, human? You obviously don’t have a chance with anyone, but if you want, I could tell you a way to guarantee that he will love you back. Want me to tell you how?”

 

Wonwoo’s eyes softened slightly with curiosity, but hardened once again. “What makes you so sure? I doubt you have much experience in romance anyways. You don’t seem the type that anyone would be interested in.”

 

There were few things Mingyu absolutely detested, and one of them was to be looked down upon. If it were anyone else, Mingyu would have immediately attacked, but since Wonwoo was his bound human. he couldn’t do anything of the sort. Instead, he decided that he should prove the boy wrong. He slowly walked up to the human, with a sly grin, showing his canines. Wonwoo stepped back, but was soon backed up to the wall. When he was close enough, Mingyu reached for the boy’s chin to pull his face up. When he did, their bodies were only a few inches apart. Their lips less than one.

 

Mingyu lowered his voice and spoke in almost a whisper. “You don’t think anyone would be interested in me? Are you sure about that?”

 

The demon had been greedily staring at Wonwoo’s lips, but then looked up at his eyes. He expected to see submission, but instead saw resistance. There was no doubt that there was red in his face, but resentment was more clearly expressed. But why? There was no one who could resist Mingyu’s charms, especially when he was actually trying to seduce them. This human must have awful taste. Displeased, the demon backed off. He regretted wasting his time doing it.

 

“Anyways, do you want me to tell you, or not? A way to make that Suchen fall for you.”

 

“Suchen?” Wonwoo looked confused as he walked back to the frying pan, poking the food that seems to have burnt a bit. He then realized who the demon meant. “Seungcheol,” he corrected him sternly.

 

“Yeah, him. So? Shall I tell you?”

 

“Yeah, fine. But I won’t take your advice just because you’re giving it to me.”

 

“Hmm? I didn’t say anything about advice, now did I?”

 

Mingyu continued speaking while Wonwoo flashed him puzzled glances.

 

“You don’t seem to understand the extent of my powers. I said you can wish for anything, right? Besides life and death, that is. I already told you I was a high class demon, but what I didn’t tell you was that my powers comes second only to the demon lord. In other words, I’m powerful, more so than you think. And I have the ability to make Seokchan fall for you if you wish it. It means you will be trading more years of your life, but the love of your life will love you back, so it would all be worth it. So, what do you say, human?”

 

He flashed a devilish grin, until Wonwoo gave him his response. He made up his mind much too quickly.

 

“No. And it’s Seungcheol.”

 

Wonwoo was finished cooking, and started organizing all the food into a four-tiered lunchbox. Mingyu just observed while he did this, not quite sure he heard correctly.

 

“No? Did you say no?”

 

The boy was now wrapping the lunchbox with a large handkerchief, not bothering to even glimpse at Mingyu.

 

“I did.”

 

“But isn’t that what you want? For him to love you back? I could easily make it happen!”

 

Wonwoo paused what he was doing, and then turned to look at the demon.

 

“I would be lying if I told you I didn’t want that, but I don’t want him to love me out of artificial feelings. I would rather he never love me for the rest of my life than to love me even once by the work of some mysterious demonic force.”

 

He finished what he was doing, then took the lunchbox and carried it with him as he walked past Mingyu and to the door. He put on his shoes and opened the door to leave, but turned back for a quick moment.

 

“And don’t follow me.”

 

He then shut the door somewhat harshly. Mingyu could hear his footsteps, and waited for them to disappear. Once they did, he left the house as well.

 

“Like I need to follow you to know where you are going.”

 

The demon spread his large, dark wings, and took flight. He headed straight for the hospital where he was summoned.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

By traveling through the air, Mingyu made it to the hospital much more quickly than Wonwoo did. He went straight to the room with Seungcheol or whoever. When he arrived, he saw that the patient was on the bed, sitting up, reading a book. Mingyu watched him carefully.

 

The boy had black hair, but with wasn’t as strikingly dark as his own. He had pale skin, sickly looking compared to Mingyu’s beautifully tanned skin. His eyelashes were long. What was he, a llama?

 

Mingyu shook his head in disappointment. What did Wonwoo see in him? A better question was, what did this guy have that Mingyu didn’t? Mingyu was obviously the superior one here. He didn’t understand the way humans thought. It just didn’t make sense.

 

He walked closer and closer to the patient, who continued reading as if nothing happened. Mingyu watched him flip a page with trembling fingers. Weak. He circled the bed, not once taking his eyes off of Seungcheol, as if doing this would allow him to discover what he had that Mingyu didn’t. Unsurprisingly, he found nothing.

 

Another page flip. Mingyu found himself getting quickly bored.

 

Just then, the door started to open. In a flash, Mingyu hid behind the curtain when he recognized the figure by the doorway to be Wonwoo. Seungcheol might not be able to see him, but Wonwoo could, and Mingyu was not about to let him know he was here. It’s not like Mingyu followed him, but he knew Wonwoo would not like it if he knew the demon was here. It was in his best interest not to make the human too angry with him.

 

Mingyu made himself invisible to Wonwoo’s eyes, then stepped away from the curtain. He wasn’t that curious, but he wanted to know how the two boys interacted.

 

“Hey Seungcheol”

 

The patient put down his book and looked up.

 

“Wonwoo!”  He smiled cheerfully. “What are you doing back already? It hasn’t even been 24 hours since you were last here!”

 

Wonwoo flashed him a bashful smile, and Mingyu almost slapped himself because he thought he was hallucinating.

 

Seungcheol must have noticed the bundle that Wonwoo was carrying. He pointed at it.

 

“Don’t tell me… is that food?”

 

“It’s never too early to get tired of hospital food.”

 

Seungcheol’s eyes widened with expectancy.

 

“Please tell me you brought me tonkatsu.”

 

“You didn’t think I would forget your favorite food, did you?”

 

Seungcheol hugged Wonwoo, which startled Mingyu a bit.

 

“YES! You’re officially amazing. Marry me now.”

 

He didn’t notice the slight flush on Wonwoo’s face, and proceeded to grab the bundle of food to unwrap it on his bed. He took off the lid, revealing beautifully golden, crispy slices of pork cutlet on a bed of neatly packed white rice. To the side was a small salad made of shredded cabbage, topped with a halved cherry tomato.

 

“This is so beautiful, I think I’m going to cry.”

 

Wonwoo chuckled gently. “Don’t eat too quickly, okay?”

 

“I’ll try not to.”

 

He grabbed the chopsticks, and with a shaky hand, pick up a piece of pork. He slowly brought up, but it dropped back into the lunchbox.

 

“It looks like I’m still a bit weak, huh,” Seungcheol chuckled bitterly. Mingyu scoffed quietly, rolling his eyes.

 

Wonwoo frowned and took the chopsticks from the patient.

 

“Recovering might take a while. I’ll feed you for now, okay?”

 

He picked up the meat that Seungcheol dropped and brought it to the boy’s lips. Seungcheol took the food into his mouth, and his eyes brightened with every bite. When he swallowed, he had an expression of pure bliss.

 

“Oh man, I sure missed this. Your tonkatsu is seriously the best.”

 

Wonwoo picked up another piece of meat. “Eat up,” he said lovingly.

 

As Wonwoo fed Seungcheol, Mingyu watched in disbelief. Just who was this guy and what had he done with Wonwoo? This certainly wasn’t the same Wonwoo he knew. Even if he liked the guy, there had to be a limit to how much he can change for him. How could he go from a stubborn brat, to a loving housewife like that?

 

And then there was that Seungcheol guy. He obviously didn’t know how Wonwoo felt about him. Why was he so stupid? And why wouldn’t Wonwoo just wish that he loved him back? Mingyu could grant it easily.

 

Why were humans so complicated?


	4. A Missing Piece

After an unnecessarily long time, Wonwoo finally left the hospital. He said his goodbyes Seungcheol, letting him rest, and promised he would be there the next day with more food. Mingyu watched as the boy held his gaze at the door as Wonwoo left, looking pleased after having had a decent meal and conversation with his friend. But his face was soon washed over with an expression of sorrow.

 

“I’m happy you care about me, but why didn’t you meet someone else? Why didn’t you find someone when I wasn’t there for you? What would have happened if I never woke up? Would you have stayed by my side forever?”

 

What did he mean? Why would Wonwoo stay with him forever if he hadn’t woken up? They weren’t dating, at least according to Wonwoo. No, Seungcheol wasn’t even supposed to have romantic feelings towards him. Was it possible that he knew of Wonwoo’s feelings? But… that seemed wrong. There must be something missing. Something that Mingyu didn’t know about Wonwoo. Something important.

 

Mingyu found no reason to stay, so he left to find Wonwoo. When he found him walking on the streets, he flew down to him, but gently this time. He was still invisible to his eyes, for cautionary reasons. Mingyu walked by Wonwoo’s side, silently watching.

 

Wonwoo didn’t look as happy as Mingyu would have expected, especially since he had just met with his love. After a long moment of silence, the boy suddenly laughed a bit, which the demon thought was strange because nothing happened. Then, he started talking to himself.

 

“ _Marry me now_ , haha.” He sighed. “You’re not allowed to joke like that, Cheol...”

 

The human’s face turned sullen. “But at least I can have you by my side again, right? Maybe it was a good thing to have summoned that demon after all.”

 

A small smile formed on Mingyu’s lips, and he was slightly proud of himself. Until Wonwoo sighed again.

 

“But you have no idea what I went through because of him. Who knew that demons were so pushy? And rude, and arrogant. Maybe he’s a special case? He is _the great Mingyu_ after all.”

 

And with that, Mingyu appeared before Wonwoo, clearly irritated.

 

“And here I thought you were actually showing gratitude for once. How unsurprising to find out you weren’t.”

 

Wonwoo scowled, no longer surprised at the demon’s spontaneous emergences. “Are you never going to leave me alone?”

 

“I have more reason to be with you than away from you.”

 

The boy huffed, slightly turning his head away from the demon. “What are you trying to do, flirt with me?”

 

The demon was suddenly flustered. “What? Why would I be trying to flirt with a puny human like you?”

 

Wonwoo raised an eyebrow. “Might I remind you of your sad attempt to seduce me in my kitchen?”

 

Mingyu scoffed. “You’re a powerless human, not to mention stubborn. You’re just a _brat_. Not at _all_ my type. Not even in your wildest dreams. Not to mention that you’re incompetent in romance. You can’t even flirt with Seonchun right! He doesn’t even have a clue about your feelings! And do you even know about _his_ feelings? You’re both stupid!”

 

Wonwoo paused. “What do you mean by that?”

 

“What, do I have to spell it out for you? I’m not flirting with you. I’ll repeat it for you in case you didn’t get it a second time. I am _not_ flirting with you. Someone like you will never be able to turn me on.”

 

“No, no, not about that. I don’t care about that.”

 

Mingyu felt a stab in his chest from his pride being hurt. Wonwoo didn’t seem to notice and continued.

 

“About Seungcheol. What do you mean I don’t know about his feelings? Did you say something to him? Do you know something about him that I don’t?”

 

“After that entire explanation you choose only to listen to the parts that have your Sancheong in it, huh? Figures.”

 

“Mingyu,” he said with a warning tone.

 

The demon glared at Wonwoo, only to find him glaring right back. The human sure had an almighty attitude.

 

“As you wish,” he said sarcastically. “You don’t know if he has feelings for anyone, right? I can find out. End of story.”

 

“End of story? You’re awful at this. What makes you think you can find out? Is it another one of your demon powers? My god, do you have _any_ communication skills?”

 

“What? Well if you don’t like the way I speak, then I’ll just leave-”

 

“No, wait!”

 

Mingyu was pleased when Wonwoo suddenly clung onto his arm, like how he did at the hospital on the day he summoned the demon. It always felt good to be in control of the conversation, after all. Though Wonwoo’s expression was slightly different, the boy had a similar look of desperation. However, he quickly let go when he realized what he had just done.

 

“I mean… wait... “

 

The boy looked away, but Mingyu could still see the pink on his cheeks. The demon felt that he regained some of the pride he lost. It wasn’t how he intended, but the human was finally showing some submission before him.

 

“Yes, human?”

 

“Actually… never mind. I don’t think I want to know..”

 

Mingyu was confused all over again. Just what was going on in this brat’s mind?

 

“And why is that?”

 

“Because it might mean that I have to prepare to have my heart broken. If he has feelings for someone else, I… I just don’t want to know.”

 

Though it was still hard to understand, the demon accepted Wonwoo’s will. He couldn’t go against him anyways.

 

“Suit yourself. Don’t regret your words later, brat.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Mingyu~”

 

Hansol called the demon’s name while shaking his hand in front of his face, but there was no response.

 

“Mingyu, hello? Anyone there? Mingyu~”

 

“Huh?”

 

Mingyu snapped out of his blank state of mind and saw his human friend and inch from his face. He had been thinking about Wonwoo, and why he wouldn’t want to know about Seungcheol’s feelings. Even if there was a chance that he returned his feelings, Wonwoo simply did not want to know. Was it because the fear of being rejected greatly outweighed the possible joy he would get from a requited love? Mingyu had the same confusion he felt when Wonwoo would allow for Mingyu to forcibly make Seungcheol love him. Why was he not letting himself be happy? There was obviously a way to guarantee results, with Mingyu around. Was it because he was human, or because he was special?

 

“Finally. Do you know how long I’ve been calling you for? What’s got you thinking so hard? Did something happen? Is there something you don’t understand about the human world that I didn’t mention?”

 

Hansol backed off and sat back down on his seat. The two were in his apartment, just hanging out. Doing what friends do, according to Hansol. The demon came to him shortly after his slight disagreement with Wonwoo. While the boy welcomed him eagerly. he didn’t realize the demon would be back so soon Then again, he wasn’t sure if he would be back at all. He was more than happy when he saw the demon at his door, but wondered if there was something he should be worried about. It seemed unlikely that he would return for no reason. And he was right. Mingyu came to try to figure out how humans work. To him, it seemed they lacked rationality. What was it they had instead?

 

“What is up with you humans and your relationships? Is there some complicated system I don’t know about?”

 

“Relationships? What do you mean? As in romantic relationships? And dating?”

 

Mingyu nodded, with his head cocked slightly to the side.

 

“Uh,,” Hansol looked around, trying to find the words to say. He looked at Mingyu, who was looking back with confused and curious eyes. He felt bad when he realized he couldn’t give Mingyu the response he was hoping for.

 

“Sorry but, I don’t have an answer to that. Actually, no one really does. Relationships are pretty complicated, and there’s no straight answer to any of it. It’s not a system. No one ever knows what’s going on, even when they think they’ve found their soulmates. Anything can happen. Relationships are like a chaotic mess, really. But why do you want to know about humans and their love lives? Don’t tell me you’re in love with a human?”

 

Mingyu stood up quickly, with an expression of shock and disgust.

 

“What? ME? Why would I be in love with some bratty human? What kind of nonsense are you trying to say? There’s NO WAY I would be in love with him. He just has love issues that I wanted to figure out because I can’t finish my job until he has it figured out! How dare you assume such a thing?”

 

Hansol defensively held out his hands.

 

“Hey, hey, no need to deny it so strongly. I was just asking. Though, if you were human, you know, hypothetically, it would seem to me like you did like the guy. Not saying you do, but.. I mean, I didn’t say anyone’s name, but… you thought of someone, didn’t you?”

 

He asked the last question cautiously, lowering his head slightly and looking up with his brows raised slightly. When Mingyu didn’t get angry, he relaxed, but then noticed the demon going back to a state of blankness.

 

Hansol was right. Mingyu did think of someone. But that was irrelevant, since Wonwoo was the only human he knew other than Hansol and that pathetic hospital patient.

 

“Yo, Mingyu, are you still here?”

 

“Hmm? Yeah… Of course, I’m not in love with him. He’s just a measly human who doesn’t even realize how good I am because he’s so blinded by his own love. Even though I’m clearly far superior to him in every way. Believe me, I’ve seen him.”

 

Hansol paused for a moment, a bit perplexed. His eyes were slightly widened, and his mouth open. His eyebrows scrunched a bit when he started thinking.

 

“Whoa…”

 

“What?”

 

The boy had a hand on his chin, still thinking.  
 

“No, it’s just… if you were a human, it totally sounds like you would be jealous right now.”

 

Mingyu swatted his hand to dismiss the comment.

 

“Nonsense. I’m just appalled at how low of standards he has. I told you, there’s no way I like him. I wouldn’t have feelings for someone so… weak.”

 

“You can never tell when it comes to feelings.”

 

“For humans maybe, but remember, I’m not like you.”

 

“Okay, sure, you have a point.”

 

“But there’s something I want to know.”

 

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to answer, but shoot.”

 

“Shoot?”

 

“Sorry, it means ask away.”

 

“Oh. Well, say you loved someone. Then one day they go… away. And you don’t get to speak to them for three years, it’s possible to still love them all that time, right?”

 

“Yeah, it’s possible.”

 

“What are the chances that you would give up on them after they suddenly come back into your life?”

 

“Hmm. That’s a pretty hard question to answer, since it really depends on the person. Love for humans differs on a case to case basis. But from what I know, I would say it’s pretty unlikely. Especially if they loved them for all those years. I guess, unless they find someone else, or the person they love is in love with someone else. But it’s possible that they would still love them even then. Like I said, everyone’s different, but I’m going to go ahead and say it’s more unlikely than likely.”

 

“Hmm… is that so…”

 

“Are you _sure_ you’re not in love with this human?”

 

“Shut it, Hansol.”

 

“Whoops.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Mingyu decided that he wouldn’t be able to figure out Wonwoo and his complicated feelings until he knew more about him. The only problem was, that it was unlikely that the human would share an inkling of information about himself if the demon were to ask. There seemed to be one way to go about this. Mingyu really didn’t want it to be this way, but he couldn’t think of any other way. To get to Wonwoo, he had to go through Seungcheol.

 

With Hansol’s help, Mingyu was able to appear as an innocent human. The point was that he wanted to bring Seungcheol’s guard down to make him spill information more easily. And to do that, Hansol gave Mingyu a makeover, because even in his human form, Mingyu was quite the looker. He looked too confident to be innocent, and that’s where Hansol the stylist came in.

 

He was dressed with a wide-neck sweater a size too large, with the sleeves reaching past his palms. His hair was combed down and slightly disheveled, and his bangs fell just below his brows. Thick-rimmed glasses rested on the bridge of his nose, and Mingyu had to adjust it every so often because it kept slipping. He wore jeans that hugged his legs, and a plaid button-up was tied around his waist. It was perfect, according to Hansol. His goal of creating Cute Mingyu was accomplished. It was time for the demon head to where Seungcheol was.

 

Mingyu was standing in front of the door, taking a breath to calm himself down. He needed to control himself for this to work. He knocked on the door twice and then entered, not waiting for a response before doing so. When he did, he saw Seungcheol sitting upright on the bed, eyeing him with curiosity.

 

“Uh… I think you have the wrong room?”

 

Mingyu looked straight back at the boy, who was now looking at him with his large eyes. Those eyes ticked the demon off, but he put an effort to give off an innocent air.

 

“No, I know where I am. I came for you Seungcheol.” He smiled, even though he was grimacing on the inside.

 

Those wide eyes turned even wider, and Mingyu was really putting an effort to stay calm.

 

“How do you know my name? Who are you?

 

“I’m a… friend of Wonwoo’s.” It pained him to use ‘Wonwoo’ and ‘friend’ in the same sentence, but he swallowed his pride in order to obtain the information he wanted.

 

“You’re… a friend of Wonwoo’s?”

 

Seungcheol was wearing an expression of shock. An expression Mingyu didn’t expect. He had just started speaking to the boy, and it looked like his plans were already in danger. It sent a slight wave of panic to the demon, but he was able to keep his face consistently innocent.

 

But then Seungcheol relaxed, showing a bittersweet smile.

 

“Really? That’s great,” he said weakly. “That’s great,” he repeated after a sigh of relief, looking at nothing in particular.

 

The boy looked once again at Mingyu. “But, what brings you here?”

 

The demon cleared his throat. “I wanted to ask you about Wonwoo. You see, he… speaks fondly of you. But the bra- I mean- boy isn’t friendly to anyone at all. I had a feeling you would know the reason.”

 

“Oh,” sighed Seungcheol. “Then, that means… let me guess. You want to be friends with him, but he doesn’t want to be friends with you?”

 

“It’s… something like that,” he said in more of a questioning tone. He didn’t want to answer incorrectly in case he was being tested.

 

The boy sighed again. “I knew it.”

 

By now, the demon thought it would be safe to ask. The boy seemed to trust him enough, and the conversation wasn’t going anywhere, so he had to be a bit more direct.

 

“Tell me, why is he like this?”

 

Seungcheol started playing with his blanket, not looking at Mingyu. He looked pained, but it was more likely mental than physical. He looked out the window at the sky, then down below where there were people. He ran his hand through his hair and chewed his lip, taking a quick peek at the demon beside him. Mingyu waited patiently.

 

“It has to do with how he grew up,” he said finally. “He probably wouldn't want me to tell you… are you sure you want to know?”

 

“Try me.”

 

Seungcheol took a breath.

 

“Okay, well it started when he was in elementary school.”


	5. His Past

“Wonwoo was just a normal kid. I mean, why wouldn’t he have been? He was pretty introverted, but he still had friends. There was a particular boy he was best friends with. His only best friend, actually. I forget his name, but all you need to know is that he was Wonwoo’s best friend. They hung out so much that even their parents were close. They would have sleepovers, since at that age, sleepovers weren’t exclusively a ‘girl thing’. On some weekends, Wonwoo would sleep at his place, and on others, the boy slept at Wonwoo’s. It was probably weird if they weren’t together… But then something happened and it changed his life forever… It was Wonwoo’s birthday, and his friend was invited to spend the night. Nothing unusual, right? His parents went out to pick him up along with the cake they ordered. They were on their way back and…”

 

Seungcheol paused. His voice shook a little and his eyes became watery.

 

“They got hit with a speeding truck. A semi-truck. The fucking bastard driving it was under the influence. Who the hell drives a fucking _semi_ while _drunk_? And you know what’s unfair about it? He lived. The truck driver lived and three innocent people died because of him. The world is unfair, but poor Wonwoo had to find out the hard way while he was in _elementary school_. Can you imagine? A kid excitedly waiting on his birthday for his parents and best friend, but they never come. Instead, having strange people telling him that he won’t ever see them again. His friend’s parents were devastated, but they didn’t blame him. It wasn’t his fault, after all. They were all just at the wrong place at the wrong time… but Wonwoo felt guilty all the same, and couldn’t face them again.”

 

He wiped a stray tear and sniffled, but he wasn’t finished talking.

 

“You could probably imagine how messed up he got after that. Since he was still a kid, child services put him under the care of his aunt, who lived a bit farther away. He was transferred to a new school, but this time, he didn’t make friends. He didn’t even try. If someone tried to talk to him, he would ignore them completely. Some of the students thought he was mute. Sometimes he would speak, but he was never friendly. You know why? Because at that young of an age, he blamed himself for the death of his parents and his friends. He didn’t want any more people to die because of him. You know as well as I do that it wasn’t his fault, but he convinced himself that it was. So he went to school every day without interacting with anyone. Wonwoo was all alone in the world, and the only family he had didn’t seem to love him.”

 

There were steady streams of tears running down Seungcheol’s face, but he no longer attempted to wipe them away.

 

“No, she didn’t love him. She didn’t even have an ounce of feelings for him. On the day he graduated elementary school, she didn’t show up at his school. I don’t think he expected her to, since she never went to parent conferences. But when he went home that day, she wasn’t there either. Nothing was there. She just up and left, taking everything with her, not even leaving a note. She thought he was unnecessary baggage and just abandoned him, when he was still a _child_. And he was _family_. What a sick woman. Wonwoo already went through so much, and then… And he didn’t even blame her in the end. He blamed himself for not being more useful to her. But he was still a kid. How was he supposed to know what to do next? So he didn’t do anything. He just sat in his yard for days until someone found him. I don’t know if he was waiting for her to come back or what, but he was just there. It was me who found him, actually. It turned out we were neighbors, but I never really noticed him until I saw him every day in front of his house. I thought it was strange that he was there when the house had a sign that said it was for sale. I couldn’t convince him to come with me to my house, so I went home to tell my parents about him. They went to his house and talked to him. I wasn’t there, but I guess they got him to tell them what happened and why he was just sitting there for so long. I wonder how they got him to tell them. Maybe because he thought he could trust parents? I don’t really know. But anyways, they were able to sort things out with officials and his aunt, and then took him in as their own. They let Wonwoo decide if he wanted to keep his surname, or change it to match all of ours. He decided to keep his original surname since it was a way for him to still be connected to his parents, which is understandable. But anyways, that’s how Wonwoo and I became step-brothers, despite us having different surnames.”

 

“You and Wonwoo are… step-brothers?”

 

“He didn’t tell you?”

 

Mingyu shook his head.

 

“Figures. He never really mentions it. I love him as a brother, but I wonder if he even sees me as family. He refers to our parents as his parents, but for some reason he never really refers to me as his brother. He was really cold and distant at first when he moved in with us. He seemed uncomfortable, but eventually he opened up to all of us. I was probably the last one he opened up to. It took about two years? It was a long time of me trying to get to know him and him trying to ignore me. But now we’re really close. But somehow he still thought of himself as a burden, when all of us would disagree. He seemed really bothered to be taking advantage of our kindness, when really, we all love him. We wanted him there… But our words weren’t enough… He moved out after graduating high school.”  
  
“He moved out on his own?”  
  
“Yeah. I mean, it might seem impossible normally, but he did have the funds. There was the money his parents saved up that went to him when they passed.. And he also got money from selling his house. Not where he lived with his aunt, but his first house. His aunt took some of the revenue, since it was her idea and all, but he still got something out of it. I’m surprised she even gave him anything, but I guess she felt guilty for making money from selling something that wasn’t hers. But he still needed some extra money. He had some part-time jobs while he was in middle school and high school, and we thought it was so that he would have spending money, or to save up for college... But when we found out he was saving up to move out… to be honest it hurt a bit. It meant that he was planning to move out from the beginning. But I mean, if moving out gave him a peace of mind, we were willing to let him go. I guess we never completely broke down the walls he built around himself.”

 

“So then, he got close to you and your family… and no one else?”

 

“Nope, no one. As far as I know, at least. I guess we just weren’t able to heal his scars completely. I wonder if they will ever heal... I mean, the only reason he’s close to me now is because I lived with him for so long. He’s probably still traumatized by his past. And then…”

 

Seungcheol looked at the palms of his hands before using them to cover his face.

 

“And then I just had to screw up and get into an accident. I can’t even imagine what he had to go through because of me.. He might even blame himself for what happened to me. I wouldn’t be surprised if he thinks this happened because he got close to me. He probably stopped visiting our parents too, because of his guilt. And since I’ve been out for so long, he must have been so lonely...”

 

Mingyu knew this was the end of the story, and he no longer had a reason to stay. He walked to the door and pulled it open before turning back to see Seungcheol still looking distressed.

 

“Thanks for telling me all that, but if you could do me a favor, don’t tell Wonwoo about this.”

 

The boy finally put his hands down and made eye contact with Mingyu.

 

“Yeah, that’s probably for the best, huh? Oh, but, if you want to become friends with Wonwoo, I can try to help you out. He might warm up to you if I’m around. I mean, I don’t want to sound arrogant about it, but I really am his only friend. As much as I wish that weren’t true... “

 

He made the suggestion lightly, but sincerely. The boy really did care for Wonwoo.

 

“No, there’s no need.”

 

“Are you sure? I’m actually getting out of here pretty soon, so we can all-.”

 

“I’m sure.”

 

“O-okay… sorry.”

 

“What are you apologizing for,” the demon muttered silently. He faced forward again and was about to make a stride when the boy stopped him.

 

“Wait! I... never got your name?”

 

The demon didn’t look back at him.

 

“I’m aware.”

 

He walked out and closed the door behind him, and Seungcheol was left wondering who he was and how he had met Wonwoo.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Once Mingyu left the busy streets, he turned back into his demon form to fly somewhere. Anywhere. He created powerful gusts as he propelled himself into the sky. He felt the cool breeze ruffle his hair and feathers as he glided in the air. The air was much cleaner up high. He closed his eyes took a deep breath, savoring the cleanliness. It was so peaceful in the sky, where no humans could bother him. He flew in no particular direction, turning when he felt like it. Again, he took a deep breath. Now that his body felt clear, it was time to clear his mind.

 

With Seungcheol’s story, Mingyu realized why Wonwoo acted the way he did. Why he refused to confess, and why he was so unfriendly to Mingyu. Why he felt so cold when he was away from Seungcheol.

 

It made sense as to why he was obsessed Seungcheol too. It wasn’t like he had a chance to like anyone else. Though, if he had met other people, would he have feelings for someone else? Or did he like Seungcheol because he pulled him out of misery?

 

When exactly was it that Wonwoo started loving Seungcheol?

 

Mingyu was hovering around a skyscraper when he felt a familiar tug that pointed him in the direction of his bound human. He paused his direction of flight to get closer to the building and peered into the window. It was a large room full of workers sitting in desks. All of the workers were men, looking grouchy or stressed, hunched over their desks either writing on papers or typing away on their computers. It was a dreary looking place. Was this where his bound human worked?

 

He entered the building through the glass and scanned the room. He found a particular fluff of black hair that he immediately recognized it to be his bound human’s. The human’s back was faced toward him. Mingyu could see that his shoulders were slightly tense. The demon proceeded to walk towards the human. He kept himself invisible, since he was not in the mood to be seen.

 

He didn’t know what mood he was in, really. He wasn’t happy for sure, but he wasn’t sad or angry. It was a feeling he wasn’t sure he had ever experienced before. The story Seungcheol told him was affecting him in a way he didn’t like, and seeing Wonwoo in front of him made it worse. Regardless, he stepped closer and closer to him with a small scowl on his face.

 

Wonwoo was typing something on his computer, looking very focused. Even if the demon was visible, he probably wouldn’t have noticed him. Mingyu sat on top of the desk carefully as to not move anything. He sat facing the boy, and watched every subtle movement he made. He watched his eyes moved when he read the text on the screen, he watched as he scrunched his lips in frustration every so often, he watched when he closed his eyes for a moment to recover from lack of blinking, and then open them wide as if he were trying to fight off drowsiness. Right now, he seemed like any other human, but who knew he had such a harsh past? How did he have the will to move forward in life, even if he didn’t have the will to move on from the past?

 

Mingyu snapped out of it. Was he… pitying a human? Was he feeling upset because of him? Because of a mere _human_? There was no way he should feel anything for any human but… was Wonwoo special? Of course, he was special in that he was bound to the demon but… there was something else. Something more.

 

Mingyu felt his heartbeat start to increase in pace from his realization. He was unable to comprehend anything. What was this feeling? Why did he feel so complicated? Why was he feeling so… _human_?

 

He had to get out of there. He quickly got up and ran to the window he came in from, not caring that he created a slight breeze that rustled the papers on Wonwoo’s desk. He didn’t stop when he heard Wonwoo mumble a confused “Mingyu?” from under his breath. If he looked back, he didn’t know what would happen.

 

Something strange was happening to Mingyu, and he didn’t want to stop to find out what it was.


	6. First Love

Mingyu was in front of Hansol’s door yet again. This was becoming somewhat of a routine thing now, but it seemed that there was something about Hansol that put him at ease. Now that Mingyu was in a bit of an emotional turmoil, he instinctively went to find his home. It wasn’t a conscious effort. His wings just took him there when his head was too jumbled up to figure out where he was going.

 

The demon sighed. He wondered if he was getting a little too dependent on the boy. He probably was. It was no matter, since the human would graciously accept his company anyways. Hansol was always happy to see Mingyu. At least he didn’t take the demon for granted, unlike some _other_ bratty human.

 

He sighed again. Wonderful. He was thinking about Wonwoo yet again. Just when he thought his mind was free of him. Figures. The mind never really works the way one wants it to..

 

Mingyu had to take his mind off of that brat, because his insides were about to melt. Just thinking about him was wreaking havoc on the demon to the point that he was becoming physically exhausted. His heart hadn’t slowed down since before, and while he _did_ just fly a flew miles, something about his heartbeat was different. It was like his soul was being shaken and his entire chest was being worn down. This wasn’t a good sign.

 

“Human, are you there? Open up,” said the demon while knocking on the door harsher than necessary.

 

Mingyu heard the light pounding of footsteps and it was clear that Hansol sprinted to the door. It was even more apparent when he opened the door with a barely noticeable pant coming from his large, bright smile.

 

“Mingyu! You’re back!”

 

The demon stepped inside and Hansol closed and locked the door behind him. Mingyu walked to the couch as if he owned the place, and the boy followed closely behind with a slight bounce in his steps. He stopped for a moment and watched the demon’s back, noticing his shoulders were not as proud as they normally were. The demons steps were slow, and his feet were almost dragging. His wings were folded up loosely, and the tips trailed along the floor.

 

“Is something wrong? You seem a little down,” the boy commented.

 

Without answering, he sat down on the couch, slowly descending into the cushion. His eyes weren’t fixated on anything, but they were staring intently at nothing. He was thinking deeply. It seemed he did that often ever since arriving in the human world.

 

Hansol was used to the fact that the demon disconnected from the rest of the world when he had his thinking sessions. What he wasn’t used to, was the extreme state of distress that showed on his face. He knew something was troubling Mingyu. Very much indeed. But when Mingyu was so detached from reality, there was no way Hansol would ever find out what it was.

 

Hansol walked to his kitchen, opened some drawers, then the fridge, closed everything, then came back. Mingyu had not moved an inch from where he was. Hansol sat on the couch beside him and opened the small container he obtained from the kitchen, scooped out some of its contents with a spoon, then hovered the spoon by Mingyu’s mouth. He slowly poked his lips with the spoon and the demon returned to reality.

 

“Say ah~”

 

The demon opened his mouth and the boy fed him what was on his spoon. It was a sweet, cold, creamy substance. At first, Mingyu was surprised at the temperature, but then savored its sweet creaminess.

 

“It’s ice cream. I like to eat it when I’m upset. It helps me cope with my feelings.”

 

Mingyu swallowed the spoonful before speaking.

 

“I’m not upset,” he said bitterly.

 

Hansol pointed at the demon’s face.

 

“Yes you are, you’re clearly upset. I don’t know why, but something’s bothering you. If you don’t want to spill what it is, just eat the dessert.”

 

Mingyu frowned, but then took the spoon from Hansol and dipped it in the container.

 

“This doesn’t mean I’m upset,” he said as he brought more ice cream to his mouth.

 

“Just accept it. You don’t have to tell me anything, but accept your feelings.”

 

The two continued eating the dessert until the container was empty. Hansol was right. Maybe it was because of the temperature, but it helped cool down his head. He no longer felt so disordered, but that didn’t mean he understood anything. His mind was just calmer. He no longer felt like a storm was running through it.

 

“Uh, thanks… I guess.”

 

Hansol chuckled. “Interestingly, I never thought I would hear you say thanks. I guess we’ve gotten closer, my friend.”

 

“Don’t get used to it.”

 

“I’ll try not to,” he joked.

 

Mingyu unconsciously dipped his spoon into the empty container and frowned when he remembered that it was all gone.

 

Hansol laughed, thinking that the demon seemed really cute right now. “Don’t worry, I have another tub. I’m glad you like it. But you know what’s even better than ice cream? Ice cream cake! I’ll buy some next time. Oh, hey, when’s your birthday? Maybe we can celebrate with ice cream cake!”

 

“Birthday? I have no such thing. Humans make too big of a deal out of it.”

 

“Human, demon, whatever. You’ve got to have a birthday! You should celebrate it while you’re here in the human world. Celebrate human traditions, you know. Maybe you’ll like it.”

 

“And maybe I won’t.”

 

“Come on, Mingyu, I promise you’ll have fun.”

 

“...”

 

“Mingyu, it’s what friends do~” Hansol said cutely.

 

“Do what you want.”

 

“Whoo! No taking back your words!”

 

“...what have I gotten myself into?”

 

Hansol laughed heartily. He was glad Mingyu had his energy back, but he was still worried. After all, it was probably very unusual for a demon like Mingyu to be so down. He looked over at the demon, who was fixing his hair.

 

“Hey, Mingyu?”

 

The demon paused his preening session to glance over at the boy.

 

“What is it?”

 

“You don’t really have to tell me if you don’t want to, but it’s never good to bottle all your feelings inside, so… if you want, and you don’t have to… but if you want… could you tell me what’s been bothering you?”

 

Mingyu was a great demon. He didn’t like having weaknesses, but Hansol could see right through him. He felt hesitant to expose his weakness though. If he were to admit them, it would mean the boy would have something on him, even though Mingyu knew he would never use it against him. Still, he felt insecure.

 

“Why don’t you tell me your troubles first? Then I’ll tell you mine,” he offered. It was a trade-off. It seemed fair enough.

 

Hansol was a bit taken aback by the suggestion, but he agreed willingly. It seemed there wasn’t anything at the top of his mind, so he had to think for a bit. When he figured out what to say, he cleared his throat to begin.

 

“Well, okay, I guess there’s been something that I’ve had to deal with for a long time. That should be okay, right?”

 

“Mhmm.”

 

“Well, it might be a bit of a rant since it’s been happening since I was a kid. All because I look different from everyone else,”

 

“Different? How so?”

 

“What?” Hansol blinked a few times. “What do you mean? I’m obviously not fully Korean. Don’t tell me you didn’t notice?”

 

The demon started inspecting him closely. He circled him once, looking from his feet to the top of his head. He knit his eyebrows slightly as he cocked his head to the side, and then looked closely at his face.

 

“Hmm, you’re right. Your eyes and hair are a lighter color…”

 

The boy laughed. “I guess we humans all look the same to you, huh?”

 

Mingyu was slightly offended by this comment.

 

“What do you mean? I can tell you apart!”

 

And so Hansol explained how humans were the same, but different groups of people shared different characteristics, and that the term ‘race’ was coined for these groups. He also explained how race had become an issue for a lot of people and how they were treated. Hansol was a mixed race, so while he felt like he belonged in this country, other people thought differently because of his appearance.

 

“So what… you look a little different and so people don’t like you?”

 

“That’s a pretty blunt way of explaining it, but yeah.”

 

“And this is what troubles you?”

 

Hansol shrugged his shoulders.

 

“Yeah. Ever since I was a kid, I was always treated differently, and I never really knew why until I grew up. I thought I was just like everyone else. I didn’t know why people called me different, because I didn’t really see race when I was a kid. I tried to be nice, but I guess my appearance got the better of people’s judgement and I ended up having no friends. All my classmates avoided me like the plague, and that led to me being bullied a little, I guess. Nothing too serious though. I survived.”

 

He chuckled at his own joke, but Mingyu didn’t laugh along. Instead he stared at him like he was a puzzle.

 

“You were bullied.”

 

“Yeah,” Hansol answered with a smile to reassure the demon that he was fine now.

 

“You were alone.”

 

“Yeah,” his smile was still there, but faded slightly.

 

“But you seem to be cheerful.”

 

“I am.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Sometime, you have to suffer before you find happiness, you know? I live a pretty good life now, and I find more reason to be happy than not. I have a place to live, I have family who all love me, and now I have a true friend. Not one who only hangs out with me because they think I look cool, or because they’ve always wanted to be friends with a foreigner, or because they want something from me. A friend who is okay with me being me. My life is finally starting to go somewhere.”

 

“What do you mean by that?”

 

“Well, you’re the first one to ever talk to me without prejudice. Well, technically you judged me for being human and all, but you treat all humans the same, so that doesn’t count. But anyways, my life can only get better from here, right?”

 

“Realistically, it can also get worse.”

 

“Psh, don’t sweat the small stuff. But I’ve already been through a lonely time in my life, but now I won’t be so lonely. But you know…” he hesitated for a bit, considering how to phrase the next part. He avoided eye contact with Mingyu and chose to look at the floor.

 

“Sometimes I get scared that all of this is just in my head. I mean, I’m the only one who can see you when you’re a demon, right? So sometimes I worry that I’ve gone a little crazy. Maybe I’m just so sick of being alone that my mind created a friend, and none of it is real... But it is, right? It is real. You’re real, and you’re really my friend, right?”

 

The boy chuckled, but his lips showed no sign of a smile. He suddenly looked small and fragile, his shoulders scrunching inward. He looked as if he would break at any moment. His brows were furrowed, and his lips were quivering. If Mingyu said the wrong words, he might crumble. It was a side of Hansol he hadn’t seen before, and it startled him. He panicked slightly and jutted his hand out to pat Hansol on the shoulder to comfort him.

 

“Don’t worry, hu- er… I mean… don’t worry, H-hansol. It’s real. We’re... friends.”

 

As soon as the boy heard his own name come from the demon’s mouth, his head snapped up. His eyes were barely teary, but Mingyu noticed. They were blinked away quickly though, and Hansol grinned widely. He suddenly jumped at the demon and hugged him tightly. Mingyu could have escaped it at any time, but he allowed the boy to do this action. He couldn’t refuse him for some reason.

 

Hansol’s cheery self returned more quickly than Mingyu would have thought possible.

 

“Thanks for listening. I guess I needed to let out my feelings too, huh?”

 

“Too? Oh…”

 

The demon had forgotten that he was supposed to share. However, he wasn’t as hesitant about letting Hansol hear it. He suddenly felt closer to him after their little heart-to-heart.

 

“So…”  
  
“So?”

 

“There is a human… this brat of a human…”

 

“Yes?”

 

“And he’s awful, not nice at all…”

 

“Go on.”

 

“I am very displeased when I’m around him, but... strange things happen to me when I’m near him or think about him… It feels unpleasant.”

 

“Why? What does he make you feel?”

 

Mingyu paused. He wasn’t exactly sure. He tried to remember what happened to him after seeing Wonwoo.

 

“I’m not exactly sure. I feel ill. My body doesn’t feel normal.”

 

“How so?”

 

“My heartbeat accelerates as if I was injected with a poison, and my body heats with a fever. I can’t think properly, and I start to lose myself. My mind becomes fuddled, and it doesn’t clear up until he is out of my mind.”

 

“Hmm…”

 

“And I get angry when he speaks… I get angry when he’s with other people..”

 

Hansol put out a hand to signal for Mingyu to stop for a moment.

 

“You get angry when he speaks? What does he talk about?”

 

“What does he talk about? Let me see… I guess most of the time it’s about his _beloved_ step-brother.”

 

“His step-brother, huh? Are you angry when he’s around this step-brother?”

 

“Yes, I just told you I get angry when he’s with other people. What should I do? I think he’s cast some sort of spell on me. A curse of some sort. He makes me feel all these strange things and I don’t know if there’s a cure.”

 

“You love him.”

 

Mingyu froze. He wasn’t quite sure if he heard correctly. _Love_?

 

“What?”

 

“Yeah, I’m 100% positive that you love him.”

 

“No no no, you’re wrong. That can’t possibly be true.”

 

“Oh it’s definitely true. Mingyu, my friend, I think you just got your first love. Congratulations! I’m beginning to think that demons and humans are more alike than you think.”

 

Mingyu looked at him in disbelief. In silence. For a good minute or two.

  
“... I think I need more ice cream.”


	7. Possessive

Mingyu woke up to the sunlight glaring through his eyelids. He squeezed his eyes tightly and covered his face with a wing before closing the curtain with his powers, not bothering to get up from the bed. He rolled over so that his back faced the window. As he recalled the events from the previous day, he groaned, feeling embarrassed that he admitted having romantic feelings for a human.

 

~

 

_After hours of being in denial, Mingyu had gone through five whole tubs of ice cream. Hansol had to go out and buy more every time he finished one, because no sane person had that many tubs of ice cream on a normal everyday basis. Of course, he was happy to do so for his best friend, but he wondered if the demon was ever going to stop. Eventually, to his relief, Mingyu finally accepted his feelings. However, this was only just the start of his problems._

_“Okay, fine. Let’s say I do love him. What am I supposed to do about it?”_

_Hansol shrugged, giving him a dull answer._

_“I don’t know, it’s hard to say if you’re not sure about your feelings.”_

_The demon growled in response. “Fine, I love him! What do I do?”_

_Hansol gave him a gentle slap on the shoulder, along with a smile._

_“There we go. The first step was to acknowledge your feelings. Step two is where the real challenge begins.”_

_Mingyu rubbed his temple in frustration._

_“I can’t believe I have to take advice from a human”_

_“Yes sir, dear Mingyu, you’re taking advice from a human. You have to accept that too. But if it helps you sleep at night, just say it’s because the person you love is also human,” he said as he grinned cheerfully, but also slyly._

_Mingyu sighed. Why did Hansol have to remind him that he fell in love with a human of all things? He swore the boy was doing this on purpose. He must be having fun with it._

_“What do you think I should do? He already loves someone else...”_

_“First thing you do is confess.”_

_There was no doubt about it, he was definitely having fun with it._

_“What do you mean confess? I don’t see how that could go well. Maybe I shouldn’t take your advice after all.”_

_“No wait, hear me out. I have a good reason for it. See, right now, your human crush doesn’t know about your feelings. If you want them to notice you, they have to know, or they won’t ever look your way.”_

_The demon crossed his arms and scoffed._

_“I’m a demon. There’s no way they haven’t noticed me…”_

_“Wait, you’re telling me that they know you’re a demon? That must mean… you’re in love with your bound human, aren’t you?”_

_Mingyu’s lips twitched slightly. “Stop saying ‘love’, it’s making me sick. Yes, it’s my bound human. So what?”_

_Hansol clasped his hands together._

_“That’s great! It just makes everything easier, since in his eyes, you already stand out. Now, the problem is getting him to like you back…”_

_After much consideration, Hansol concluded that confessing was still the way to go. After a one-sided debate, he managed to get Mingyu to agree to confessing. As soon as possible._

 

~

 

Mingyu groaned again, covering his face with his hands. There must have been something strange in that ice cream from yesterday. Otherwise, why was he such a pushover the night before?

 

There was a knock on the door. It opened after Mingyu gave a small hum. Hansol popped his head through the small opening and greeted the demon with a smile.

 

“Oh good, you’re awake. Get ready to go out. In your human form. We’re going shopping!”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Mingyu confidently paraded along the streets with pride as he saw humans turn their heads to look at him with awe. Being the center of attention like this was something he missed about the demon world. Not even giving his audience a glance, he continued to stride along the streets, relishing the moment. He grinned smugly to himself before stopping in his tracks. He realized Hansol was supposed to be leading the way, but he was instead trailing behind Mingyu.

 

“Hansol, what are you doing? How am I supposed to follow you when you’re _behind_ me?”

 

Hansol ran into the demon because of the sudden stop, but then timidly tip-toed to his side, playing with the sleeves of his shirt. A light pink hue appeared on his cheeks as he scratched the back of his head.

 

“Sorry, I’m not used to people staring. Not like _that_ anyway.”

 

“Like what? Like they envy you?”

 

“I guess, but more like in an admiring kind of way. I guess it’s just kind of embarrassing… Most of the time if people look at me, it’s like they’re judging me-oh hey, there it is! There’s where we need to go!”

 

Hansol jogged lightly ahead and pulled at Mingyu’s elbow to try to drag him along. However, the demon resisted ever going faster than a walk, so the boy consequently bounced upward more than forward. The two ended up going at Mingyu’s slow pace but made it to their destination anyways. Hansol enthusiastically opened the heavy glass door, and a chime was sounded. A store employee was busy with a customer, but indicated that he had seen the two and would attend to them next.

 

“What is this place? Why are we here?”

 

“ _This_ is where you’re going to get your first piece of human technology,” Hansol explained as he spread his arms wide.  
  
The demon scanned the store and saw glass containers with electronic gadgets. There were also TV screens mounted on the walls, along with gaming systems. It was a plethora of technology, but what was it that they were getting?

 

The employee wrapped up his conversation with the previous customer and then motioned for the two new customers to come to the counter.

 

“Leave everything to me. Go wait over there,” Hansol said, pointing to some chairs in the corner of the store.

 

Mingyu looked puzzled and slightly irritated.

 

“You want me to wait? Why did you bring me here if you wanted me to wait?”

 

The boy put his hands on the demon’s back and gently pushed him toward the corner.

 

“It won’t take long. Just wait a few minutes, okay?”

 

Mingyu grumbled as he made his way to the chairs. He sat down and watched Hansol walk to the counter and talk to the employee. Hansol seemed to be explaining something to him, but Mingyu wasn’t interested. He was soon bored, since this was taking much longer than just ‘a few minutes’. It had already been half an hour. Expecting an even longer wait, the demon decided to take a nap. He crossed his arms leaned his head against the wall before closing his eyes.

 

“Mingyu! Sorry, that took longer than I thought it would.”

 

_So much for that nap._

 

The demon opened his eyes to see a small white box being held in front of his face.

 

“For you.”

 

He cautiously took the box and immediately checked its contents. Inside that was a shiny new phone. He looked up at Hansol.

 

“What’s this for?”

 

“It’s to congratulate you on your first love, of course,” he answered. “That and I thought it would be useful for us to be able to communicate since you’re not coming to my apartment anymore. I got one that I thought would be easy for you to get used to, since I’m sure you’ve never had a phone before.”

 

Mingyu was holding the phone and examining the phone strap that was attached to it, but paused at Hansol’s words.

 

“What do you mean I’m not going to your apartment anymore?”

 

“Well I mean, you want your bound human to fall for you, right? It’s probably not a good idea for you to be living with someone else. So from today on, you’re going to have to get him to let you sleep there. Whatever it takes… well, try not to force it, but you know what I mean.”

 

He said this with a bittersweet expression. Mingyu knew that this must be difficult for him, since it meant he would be alone in his apartment. If Hansol was willing to give up that much, then Mingyu would have to put that much more effort to gain Wonwoo’s heart.

 

“I understand. If it’s for the best, then I’ll do that.”

 

“Don’t get me wrong, we can still hang out, okay?”

 

Mingyu nodded his head in acknowledgement. He started examining the charm on his phone once again.

 

“But… why a bunny?”

 

Hansol smiled. “It’s not a bunny, it’s Tosun. He’s cute, isn’t he? He resembles you.”

 

The demon looked at the charm once again, trying to see how it resembled him in _any_ way, but couldn’t find any similarities.

 

“Tch, you’re a strange human, but it’s not like I didn’t know that already.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Mingyu said his goodbyes to Hansol, not knowing when they would meet again. Now, he had to focus all of his attention to Wonwoo. Hansol warned him that it wouldn’t be easy to gain his heart when it belonged to another, so he had make sure to put in real effort.

 

He turned back to his demon form to search for Wonwoo from the skies. As he glided in the air, he waited for the signaling tug.

 

It was strange for Mingyu to feel the need to put effort into something. Nothing was ever too difficult for him, so he wasn’t familiar with having to even think about working hard. It was the first time he felt such a determination. He was unsure if he liked the feeling or not, as it was still too unfamiliar. But the real question was, would his efforts result in anything? Normally, he would be certain it would, but with Wonwoo the results might not be as he hoped for. The human was different, and he was _stubborn_.

 

Then he felt it. The slight pull that he was anticipating. He looked in the direction of the pull and spotted him right away in a public park. He would have gone down to greet him, but the demon saw another familiar face. One he wasn’t nearly so happy to see.

 

_Seungcheol._

 

Mingyu was conflicted. He wasn’t expecting Seungcheol to be out of the hospital yet… He did remember the boy mentioning that he would be released, but the demon wasn’t expecting it to be so soon. He certainly didn’t expect him to be with Wonwoo, though he should have figured. He circled the area like a raven claiming a meal as he thought about what he would do. Should he greet them both? Should he wait for them to separate?  
  
Then, he realized that this might be a good opportunity to obtain more information on the two of them and their relationship. Eavesdropping it is.

 

He made sure to keep himself invisible to Wonwoo before slowly descending and landing several feet behind him. It was close enough for him to be able to hear them converse. The two were walking slowly along the pathway, and Mingyu followed a meter behind. Besides the two (three) of them, the park was relatively empty.

 

“What do you mean you haven’t been promoted? You and I both know you’ve deserved a promotion for _ages_. They would be so lost without you! You _know_ they need you. You’re better than all of them! What’s their problem?”

 

Wonwoo laughed. “My pay is fine. I don’t need a promotion. Don’t want to get too greedy and then have them fire me.”

 

Seungcheol scoffed at the statement.  
  
“There’s no way they would do that. You’re too valuable. Take charge and ask for a promotion, maybe they’re just waiting for you to suggest it.”

 

“Like I said, it’s fine. I’m satisfied with my position, and I don’t want to willingly give myself a bigger workload.”  
  
“I guess you have a point.”

 

“But I think a more important question to ask is, what are you going to do about _your_ job? Your manager fired you, right? Even though it was completely unjustified. Does she _expect_ someone to show up to work when they’re in a coma? What kind of unrealistic expectation is that? But anyways, what are you going to do now?”

 

Seungcheol looked up at the sky, then turned his head to smile at Wonwoo. He suddenly tackled him into a bear hug, and Mingyu, still watching from a short distance, flinched in response.

 

“I’ll just mooch off of you for the rest of my life,” he said cutely, as Wonwoo struggled minimally to get out of his grasp. When Wonwoo gave up trying to escape, he held him more tightly, and buried his face in his shoulder.

 

“Cheol,” Wonwoo giggled.

 

Mingyu felt his body temperature rising in anger. Why wasn’t he ever that cute to Mingyu? Why did he ever only show him a scowl? It wasn’t fair. The demon could feel something radiate from within him as a result of his jealousy, but didn’t know what it was. An unfortunate nearby flower began to shrivel, but the demon didn’t notice.

 

Seungcheol rested his chin on Wonwoo’s shoulder, and his expression turned sullen.

 

“I wish you were this friendly to everyone else. It’s a shame only I know this side of you. No one would _ever_ believe me if I told them you were this cute.”

 

Wonwoo stroked Seungcheol’s hair affectionately. Another flower shriveled to its death.

 

“I don’t care about anyone else. I only need you… a-and mom and dad.”

 

Seungcheol frowned and separated himself from the boy in front of him. He stared intently into his eyes, but then sighed.  
  
“I know you’re convinced that you don’t need anyone else, but... what if something happens to me again? You’ll be all alone.”

 

Wonwoo’s face had turned somber as well.

 

“Please don’t say that. Nothing’s going to happen to you. I won’t let it.”  
  
“But what if it does?”

 

“Stop. Please. I don’t want to think about it.”

 

“Wonwoo-”

 

“No!”

 

Wonwoo put his head down and shut his eyes. He blocked his ears with the palms of his hands, but Seungcheol pulled on his wrists to unblock them. Wonwoo’s eyes had turned watery, and Seungcheol was looking into them with worry.  
 

“Wonwoo, please, I don’t want you to ever be alone. Just try to make new friends, okay? Or maybe you could try dating-”

 

“Seungcheol, I don’t need anyone else!”

 

His voice shook as he spoke, and that shook something within Mingyu. He felt irritated, angry and felt the need to protect him. How dare Seungcheol make Wonwoo cry? How dare he suggest for him to date someone while being completely oblivious to the fact that he was the one Wonwoo liked? Feeling strangely possessive, Mingyu felt the need to interfere. To take Wonwoo away from him.

 

Everything happened so quickly, and it was as if time slowed down. The series of events happened in less than five seconds. The first thing Mingyu did was make himself visible. He cast a spell on Seungcheol to make sure he could see him in his demon form, since there was no point if he didn’t know who he was dealing with. Then he walked up to Wonwoo, spreading his large wings as he did so. Wonwoo wasn’t facing him, so he hadn’t seen the demon yet, but Seungcheol did. Mingyu and Seungcheol made eye contact, and the boy’s face turned into one of sheer horror and disbelief. In a quick moment, Mingyu wrapped one arm around Wonwoo’s waist, and one across his chest, glaring at Seungcheol as he did so. His eyes glowed red in aggression, and he bared his canines as if claiming Wonwoo. Seungcheol’s eyes widened as he suddenly recognized the demon as the innocent boy who had visited him in the hospital, and he furrowed his brows in realization.

 

“You-”

 

Mingyu gave him no time to finish his statement, as he propelled both himself and Wonwoo into the air, watching Seungcheol blinking in confusion and incredulity.


	8. The Confesion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's going to be in Wonwoo's POV

Wonwoo was frozen from shock at first. He was talking to Seungcheol... No, he was arguing with him... but suddenly he was hundreds of feet in the air. He arms and feet were dangling, swaying from the movement, and his breath was mildly shallow from the change in elevation. He watched as Seungcheol got smaller and smaller while Wonwoo was going higher and higher.

 

_What was happening?_

 

When he recovered from his initial shock, he noticed that there was a pair of arms holding him up. Someone was carrying him, and that could only mean one thing. He looked back and saw large, black, feathered wings.

 

“Mingyu, what the hell are you doing? Let me down!”  
 

He struggled to get out of his grasp, but Mingyu’s arms had a firm hold on him.

 

“Stop moving so much. If you really want me to let you go, it means I’m dropping you from here.”

 

That was enough to get him to stop struggling, but it didn’t stop him from yelling.

 

“Where are you taking me? Bring me back to the earth, you stupid demon!”

 

“Shut up for a minute. I’m looking for a place to land.”

 

With that, Mingyu flew even higher.

 

“What the hell? What happened to landing? You’re supposed to go to land, which means to go _downward_ ,” Wonwoo said bitterly. He crossed his arms and pouted, but didn’t try resisting any further. He figured it was in his best interest not to when they were so high up.

 

And then, Wonwoo could feel land under his feet again. Except it wasn’t land. They were still very high up, but on the roof of a building. A skyscraper. One without stairs leading into the building.

 

When his feet were firmly planted, Mingyu released him. With his arms still crossed, Wonwoo turned around to face the demon. He made his face look as stern as possible.

 

“Bring me back down.”

 

“No.”

 

“We’re not allowed to be here, and even if we were, I would _much_ rather be closer to Earth.”

 

“I need to tell you something.”

 

“I can hear just as well on the ground floor as up here. Take me down.”

 

“Shut up and listen.”  
 

“Maybe I will if you take me down.”

 

“Wonwoo.”

 

Hearing his name in Mingyu’s voice felt strange. Wasn’t this the first time he heard it? There was something different about the demon. He couldn’t tell what it was, but there was something definitely off.

 

“I-I’m not listening until you take me down.”

 

“I love you,” Mingyu snarled.

 

Wonwoo stiffened. He must have heard very wrongly. Either that or the demon misspoke. Or the demon lost his sanity. Or it was him who lost his sanity.

 

He looked at the demon, who looked just as angry as he sounded. His hair and feathers were ruffling in the wind. His hands were tightened into fists on either side, and his shoulders were tense. His eyebrows were furrowed, and he was glaring at Wonwoo. His lips were pursed, jaw clenched. Nothing about the demon’s stance was fitting for a confession. That is, except for his complexion that was increasingly reddening.

 

Wonwoo took a step back. Mingyu took a step forward.

 

“You’re crazy.”

 

Another step back, followed by the demon stepping forward.

 

“I know.”

 

Two steps back.

 

“You don’t love me.”

 

Two steps forward

 

“I do.”

 

Wonwoo stopped. He felt that he was dangerously close to the edge.

 

“You’re lying.”

 

The demon took another step, shortening the distance between them.

 

“I’m not.”

 

Mingyu took one last step toward Wonwoo.

 

He was close enough now that Wonwoo could see his reflection from the demon’s eyes. He noticed that they weren’t just a blood red. They were a fiery red, with vibrant orange hues intensified by the sun. Unlike human eyes, the colors weren’t stationary. He could see the colors shifting, swirling around the pupil. It was mesmerizing to the point it was the only thing he could focus on. That is, until he realized that if he could see so many details in his eyes, he was probably too close. Snapping out of his trance, Wonwoo took a step back, but his heart dropped when his foot continued to descend past where he expected it to, as he had reached the edge of the roof.

 

He could feel himself stiffen and his eyes widen. He wasn’t ready for death, but he could feel it coming. Time slowed down, and he could feel his body tilting back. His arm came forward automatically as he tried to grab anything there, but nothing was close enough. His hand clamped at the empty air. He could see Mingyu, calmly watching as he was falling. He was just out of his reach, but if only the demon outstretched his hand, Wonwoo could have grabbed it. Was the demon just going to watch him fall? Was it revenge for something he did? Or did he just want to collect his soul early?

 

There was something pounding his chest. It made a loud, harsh sound and he could feel it resonating throughout his body. It echoed into his ears, and he wondered what it was. He laughed at his silly self when he recognized it as his heart. It was working so hard for someone who was about to die. He laughed at his silly self for dying so easily. He closed his eyes.

_Well I guess no one has to suffer because of me anymore. I’m sorry for everything, Seungcheol._

 

The ground didn’t come. Death didn’t come. Or did it? Wonwoo felt numb from fear, but he could still feel his pounding heart. It meant he didn’t die. He opened his eyes slowly and found himself being carried princess-style by Mingyu. He didn’t know what happened exactly, but they were on the same roof as before, only much farther from the edge. Seeing the demon made him feel relieved. Though, if it weren’t for Mingyu, he wouldn’t have been up here in the first place. Still, he didn’t have the will to thank the demon for saving him.

 

“That’s why I told you to bring me down, stupid.”

 

Wonwoo could feel the tears welling in his eyes. He wiped them away with trembling fingers, but they wouldn’t stop. His entire body was shaking, and he couldn’t calm down. He had given up, yet here he was, in the arms of a demon. Crying. Alive.

 

“Stupid demon.”

 

Mingyu knelt to put Wonwoo down, and then the boy started hiccuping. He didn’t get up from where Mingyu left him. He still kept wiping his face whenever he felt a warm drop run down, but he didn’t say anything anymore. The demon seemed unsure of what to do, and awkwardly patted Wonwoo on the shoulder. He did this for a few seconds, but abruptly stopped.

 

“Wait here. I’ll be right back.”

 

The demon flew down, leaving Wonwoo by himself. Of course Wonwoo had to stay, there was no way for him to get down on his own. A moment passed, and he managed to stop crying. The hiccups, on the other hand, were persistent. He was still a bit shaken, but his mind was stable again.

 

“Stupid demon,” he said again, sniffling.

 

Then, his phone rang. He picked it up immediately without looking at the caller ID. It could only be one of few people, anyways.

 

“Wonwoo? Are you there? Are you okay? What happened? You just… Did I see right? You were taken… by some monster... What do I do? It is you, right Wonwoo?”

 

*hic*

 

“Are you crying? Wonwoo, are you okay? Are you hurt? What did he do to you? Where are you?”

 

“I’m fine..” *hic*

 

Seungcheol’s worried tone turned enraged.

 

“You’ve been crying. He made you cry. That monster made you cry. What did he do to you? Is he still there? He’s not trapping you somewhere, is he?”

 

Technically, yes. Wonwoo couldn’t escape from the rooftop. But it wasn’t like the demon intentionally imprisoned him.

 

“No, I’m fine. Just go home. I think we should save our lunch date for another day.”

 

“Wonwoo-”

 

He ended the call and then took the battery out from his phone. As bad as he felt for hanging up on Seungcheol, his day was thoroughly spoiled by the near-death experience. And the demon’s confession. That was weird too. Why would he do that? Whatever happened to Wonwoo not being his type?

 

_What was there even to like about me?_

 

By now, the hiccups had ceased. He stood up and patted his pants to remove dust. He took a few deep breaths and looked at the city. If he wasn’t so distracted earlier, he would have noticed what an amazing view it was. He could see the buildings, the river, the trains, and the mountains all so clearly. Was that the reason Mingyu took him here? To confess in such a place? It couldn’t be… was the demon was trying to be romantic?

 

He burst out it laughter when he remembered the angry confession. The demon seemed clumsier than when he first met him. Or maybe he was always that way and Wonwoo just didn’t realize?

 

Just then, out in the distance, he could see Mingyu again, carrying a plastic bag and flying towards him. When he reached the rooftop, he landed gracefully in front of Wonwoo, who was looking at him with curiosity. The demon turned his head away, but then looked down at the boy with his eyes. He looked away again and held up the plastic bag.

 

“It helps.”

 

“Helps what? What is it?”

 

The demon shoved the bag further in the boy’s face, so Wonwoo took it, still unsure of what it was for. It was heavier than he thought it would be. He opened the bag, and inside was three tubs of ice cream. Three full-sized tubs of ice cream. And several plastic spoons.

 

“What’s this for?”

 

“Earlier you… you know…you were crying…  Just eat it! Stop asking questions!”

 

Wonwoo stared at the demon with a puzzled expression. Then he looked inside the bag again. Eat it? All of it?

 

“Who the hell eats three tubs of ice cream in one sitting?”

 

The bag was swiftly taken out of his hands before he realized it. He looked up and saw Mingyu stomping away, bag in hand.

 

“Fine, it’s not like I bought it for you anyways, ungrateful little brat,” the demon grumbled angrily, loud enough for Wonwoo to hear.

 

The demon sat down several feet away from him and opened the bag. He pulled out a tub and a plastic spoon and began gorging on the ice cream. He ate quickly in fury.

 

“Of course I bought these for myself,” he muttered, slightly less angrily than before.

 

Wonwoo slowly walked to where the demon was seated and took a seat himself. The demon paused, spoon halfway to his mouth, as he watched Wonwoo pull out a tub for himself, along with a spoon. The boy took a scoop of strawberry ice cream and put it in his mouth. He squeezed his eyes shut when it was colder than he expected it to be. After swallowing his first bite, he looked at the demon who was still frozen.

 

“What?” Wonwoo asked nonchalantly as he took another scoop. “You told me to eat it, didn’t you?”

 

The demon put his spoon down, and it seemed like he was going to stop eating. But then he continued to ravish the ice cream at an even faster pace than before. He finished his tub much more quickly than Wonwoo thought would be possible.

 

The demon was onto his second tub before Wonwoo was even halfway finished with his first. Wonwoo wondered all the ice cream was going. It certainly didn’t seem like it was going in Mingyu’s stomach. It was much too flat.

 

Mingyu finished the second tub even faster than the first. He put his spoon in the empty tub and closed his eyes, bringing a hand to his temple.

 

“Brain freeze?”

 

“No, shut up, I’m thinking.”

 

Wonwoo was offended, but he shut up anyways. Somehow, eating the strawberry ice cream seemed to prevent him from being overly annoyed. It helped him stay calm. Wonwoo thought for a moment. Maybe that’s what Mingyu was trying to get at earlier when he said it would help? It would help calm him down from his crying fit?

 

_Oh. So that’s what he meant._

 

Wonwoo was two-thirds of the way done with the tub, but he couldn’t eat any more. How was it that the demon was able to eat two of these?

 

Just then, a sigh escaped the demon’s lips. There was a pause. Then another sigh followed by the demon blankly staring at nothing. Obviously, he wasn’t going to share the reason he was so bothered, but Wonwoo didn’t care much.

 

“So… can we please go back down now?”

 

No response.

 

“I think we’ve been up here long enough.”

 

Still no response.

 

Wonwoo stood up and kicked the demon in the leg.

 

“Come on, take me down already. Haven’t you hoarded me for long enough? I want to go home.”

 

Mingyu blinked thrice as he finally came back to his senses. He looked up at the boy who just kicked him.

 

“I can’t believe it.”

 

“What, that I kick you?”

 

“No… yes, actually, but that’s not what I meant…”

 

“Then what?”

 

“That I still love you even though you kicked me.”

 

Wonwoo was taken aback by the forward statement, not used to anyone professing their love to him so directly. Or at all. He almost forgot why he wanted the demon’s attention in the first place.

 

“J-just take me home now, will you?”

 

“Home? You want to go home?”

 

“Yes, for the twentieth time.”

 

“Can I come with you?”

 

Come with him? Come home with him? Mingyu wanted to come home with Wonwoo? He had a bad feeling he wouldn’t be able to avoid this.

 

“Not this again. Please not this again. No. You can’t come with me.”

 

Mingyu stood up and started walking to the edge of the roof, spreading his wings.

 

“Fine.”

 

He was going to leave without him. He was going to leave Wonwoo stranded on the roof of a skyscraper unless the boy agreed to let him inside his home.

 

_I knew it._

 

“OKAY, FINE!”

 

The demon stopped in his tracks. He slowly turned his head, revealing a sly smirk and a raised eyebrow.

 

“Hmm?”

 

“Fine, you can come home with me. Happy? Now take me down.”

 

The demon turned around and walked back to Wonwoo. He scooped the boy in his arms and flashed a devilish grin.

 

“As you wish.”


	9. Patience

Mingyu could feel the solid wood floor, warmed from the morning sun. It wasn’t exactly comfortable, but it reminded him of the demon world. Still, he preferred a bed. Nice, soft, bouncy and comfortable. When he returned to the demon world, he should take a bed from the human world with him.

 

But hadn’t he slept a bed? He slowly opened his eyes. He was slightly disoriented from sleep and tried making sense of his surroundings, realizing after a few seconds that he was at Wonwoo’s house. He saw that he was about a foot away from a couch (and not a bed) that he had fallen from at some point in the middle of the night. It must not have been that painful of a fall if he didn’t wake up from it. He rolled over and used his arms to push himself off the ground, rubbing his eyes as he rose. He then stretched his arms and yawned.

 

The room was peaceful, and judging from the lack of sounds in the house, Wonwoo was probably still fast asleep and the demon wondered if he should wake him up. It felt strange to think about waking someone up since Hansol was always the one to wake him up. Even in the demon world, it would always be a lesser demon who woke Mingyu. Still, he never thought he would be the one waking anyone up, and at the same time, he wouldn’t have imagined that Wonwoo would be one to sleep in.

 

He made his way to Wonwoo’s door in light steps. He placed his hand on the doorknob and turned it slowly, but he suddenly heard someone inserting a key in the front door. Startled, he released the doorknob, which made a rattle as it snapped back to its original position. Mingyu could hear Wonwoo groan and turn over, ignoring the sound, not wanting to wake up.

 

But if Wonwoo was still sleeping in his room, who was trying to get in?

 

The demon turned around to check the entryway. As he walked toward the front, he could hear the rustle of someone removing their shoes. When he meet the visitor, his first reaction was to get him out of the house before Wonwoo woke up.

 

Before Seungcheol looked up from taking off his shoes, he was being carried on Mingyu’s shoulder, and was being taken out from where he came from.

 

“Wha… It’s you! What do you think you’re doing? What were you doing in Wonwoo’s house? What did you do to him yesterday? Who are you? _What_ are you? Put me down!”

 

Seungcheol was kicking with his shoeless feet to try to loosen the demon’s grip, but it was of no use. It was no matter though, since Mingyu didn’t carry him for long. He didn’t want to touch him for longer than necessary, anyway. He only took him to the neighborhood playground before dropping him not so gently into the sand. The boy shut his eyes as he landed harshly on his butt.

 

Without missing a beat, the boy got up quickly and grabbed Mingyu’s collar. With the height difference between the tall demon and average boy, it wasn’t very intimidating. The fact that it was a human threatening him made it even less so.

 

“I asked you a question, you monster! What did you do to Wonwoo?”

 

Rage was seething between his teeth as he hissed at the demon. However, the demon was unfazed. Mingyu immediately grabbed Seungcheol’s wrists and easily pulled them away from his collar before shoving them away. He stretched his torso to appear even taller than he was in order to look down at the boy in a condescending manner.

 

Now that it was the two of them alone, it was a good time for Mingyu to convince the boy to stay away from Wonwoo. Wonwoo wasn’t going to fall out of love if he continued seeing Seungcheol around.

 

“Listen you, human brat, you’re precious little Wonwoo is fine. If you want him to stay that way, it would be best if you stayed away.”

 

“Is that a threat?”

 

“If it makes you stay away, then yes.”

 

“And if I don’t comply?”

 

“Do you want to find out?”

 

Seungcheol uttered a small sound as he tried to search for an answer to that question. Even when he couldn’t find one, he didn’t back down. He continued to glower upward at the demon in front of him.

 

“What are you and what do you want with Wonwoo?”

 

The demon scoffed as he took a step back. He started laughing and in response, Seungcheol backed away cautiously.

 

“What do I want with Wonwoo?”

 

He continued to laugh as Seungcheol stared at him with a frustrated expression. His laughter died down and he gave a quick smirk.

 

“It’s a secret,” the demon whispered, placing his index on his lips.

 

“You! What th-”

 

“Ah-ah,” the demon now extended the index finger and waved it side to side. “Mingyu.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Mingyu, the second most powerful demon in existence. You should watch your words if you don’t want to get hurt, brat.”

 

The demon scowled, and Seungcheol mimicked his expression.

 

“Why are you hanging around him so much, huh? Why are you so obsessed with him? Don’t think I don’t recognize you from the hospital that day! You tricked me to get closer to him, didn’t you?”

 

“Oh, come on. You can’t be _that_ dumb, can you? Why do you think a demon hang around a human so much? Haven’t you ever heard what kinds of business transactions happen between a human and a demon?”

 

Seungcheol stopped for a moment as the words _business transaction_ registered into his head.

 

“You don’t mean…” he swallowed. “You’re going to eat his soul?”

 

“Is _that_ what they teach you in school? That’s preposterous. No, we don’t eat the souls we collect. But his soul is promised to me when the contract is fulfilled.”

 

“No…”

 

“Yes. And would you like to guess why he would promise his soul to me?”

 

Seungcheol looked down and to the side, thinking of what the answer could have been. He leaned on one leg and crossed his arms.

 

“Wonwoo’s not selfish… there’s no way he would have sold his soul to benefit himself.”

 

“Then?”

 

“If he was doing it for someone else…”

 

“Yes?”

 

The boy’s eyes widened when he came to a conclusion.

 

“No.. he didn’t... he couldn’t have…”

 

“What?”

 

The boy looked up at the demon, suddenly looking regretful. His lips wavered slightly as he looked directly at the demon.

 

“Did he do it for me?“

 

The demon smirked. “Bingo.”

 

Seungcheol stepped back, agony suddenly creeping up on him. He covered his face.

 

“Oh my god, I just keep hurting him. Me. _I’m_ the one hurting _him_.”

 

_More than you know._

 

Their conversation was interrupted by a jingle coming from Mingyu’s pocket. The unexpected noise startled the demon, and his control of the situation seemed to vanish. He took out the phone and looked at the screen, which notified him that ‘HVC my bestie <3’ was calling.

 

“Why did he input _that_ as his name,” the demon mumbled under his breath.

 

Seungcheol uncovered his face when he heard Mingyu speak, though the utterance wasn’t intended for him. He saw the phone in the demon’s hand.

 

“Hmm? A bunny?”

 

“Shut up, it’s not a bunny. It’s Tosun,” he snapped. He turned away in irritation before accepting Hansol’s call.

 

“What is it?”

 

“Hey, Mingyu! What’s up? How did your date go?”

 

“Date? What do you mean? I wasn’t aware that I was supposed to go on a date.”

 

“What? What were you doing all day yesterday then? Don’t tell me you haven’t confessed yet…”

 

“I did confess.”

 

“You did? Without going on a date?”

 

“I did. What’s wrong with that?”  
  
“What’s wrong with that? Mingyu, how do you expect him to develop feelings for you if you aren’t being romantic in any way?”

 

Mingyu puffed when he remembered all of the painful preparations he took to confess.

 

“It’s not like I didn’t try…”

 

“Well, what’s done is done, right? What happened? Did he miraculously accept your feelings? What did he say? Come on, tell me all the details!”

 

“He said… wait a minute… he never replied!”  
 

“Oh, well that’s very not nice of him.”

 

“Great. What am I supposed to do now?”

 

“What can I tell you? Confess again.”

 

“ _Again_? You’re not serious...”

 

“Yeah, let’s go about it that way. Confess again, but this time go on a proper date. Got it? Go to an amusement park or something.”

 

“An… amusement park?”

 

“Yeah, it’s a classic dating spot! It can’t fail! Oh, and when you confess, do it at the top of the ferris wheel. It _has_ to be there. It’s the most romantic way to go!”

 

The demon cleared his throat.

 

“If…  if you say so…”

 

“You can do it! I’m cheering for you, man.”

 

“A-alright... I’ll do it.”

 

The demon could feel heat rising to his face. He cleared his throat put his hand on his hip, ignoring the sensation.

 

“That’s the spirit!”

 

“But, what if it doesn’t work?”

 

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. Good luck for now! Bye!”

 

-click-

 

There was a dial noise at the other end of the line after Hansol hung up. The demon put the phone back in his pocket.

 

_I swear that kid is having too much fun with this._

He turned back to continue his conversation with Seungcheol, but when he looked, the boy was nowhere to be seen.

 

_That sneaky brat!_

 

Mingyu turned on his heels and headed for Wonwoo’s house. There was no doubt that it was where Seungcheol was headed.

 

“That stupid human, of course he flees as soon as I’m not looking at him,” grumbled the demon.

 

When he reached the house, he found that the front door was both closed and locked. Seungcheol must have done that on purpose. Mingyu walked along the perimeter of the house, and when he was able to hear voices, he stopped and leaned, pressing his ear against the house walls.

 

“It’s okay, Seungcheol. All that matters is that you’re back, right?”

 

It was Wonwoo’s voice. He was speaking in a somewhat solemn manner. Mingyu could recognize the next voice as Seungcheol’s.

 

“You shouldn’t have done it. Not for me, anyways…”

 

“I didn’t just do it for you, you know”

 

“But-”

 

“Don’t feel too bad about it. I know you would have done the same for me.”

 

“Still…”

 

Seungcheol must have told Wonwoo that he knew about the demon and their contract. He must either be really brave, or a complete idiot for not heeding Mingyu’s warning to stay away from Wonwoo. With what Mingyu knew of him, it was more likely that he was an idiot.

 

“Hey, if you want to make it up to me, why don’t you make me something? Make me omurice,” Wonwoo said lightly, trying to lift the mood.

 

Seungcheol chuckled. “You know I don’t cook as well as you do.”

 

“I don’t care. I want to eat Seungcheol omurice today.”

 

Mingyu knew Wonwoo was smiling, even though he couldn’t see it. It seemed that for Seungcheol, Wonwoo’s smile was a natural occurrence. Would it ever be for Mingyu?

 

“Alright, alright. Seungcheol omurice it is. Don’t blame me if it’s not very good.”

 

The voices died as they left the room, and Mingyu followed along the wall to be able to hear them again. He stopped when he heard the clattering of a pan, indicating that they were in the kitchen. There was the sound of chopping, though it wasn’t very fast. Seungcheol must not be that skilled at cutting vegetables. Then the sound of sizzling overrode any other noise. Until there was a playful shout.

 

“Hey, stop that Wonwoo. I can’t cook properly with you clinging onto me like that.”

 

“That’s okay, I didn’t expect the omurice to be that good anyways.”

 

“Hey!”

 

Then, there was laughter. A bright laughter that came from the two brothers in the kitchen. Mingyu couldn’t be angry because it was a beautiful sound. Too beautiful and too painful for him to bear. Was love supposed to be painful? It probably wasn’t good for his heart to be listening to the two any longer, so he backed off from the walls of the house. He didn’t know where to go, so he went to the front door and leaned his back against it, slowly sinking to the floor. He sat there for countless hours doing nothing, and merely looked at the sky. He watched the clouds float by, and the color change from a baby blue, to hues of orange, pink and violet. He watched as the stars appeared, bit by bit, as the sky darkened to a navy blue. Slowly... Ever so slowly.

 

Will he ever get Wonwoo to fall for him?

 

Mingyu’s thought was interrupted when the door he had been leaning on no longer supported him. He fell on his back and made eye contact with Seungcheol, who was looking down at him after opening the door. The boy squinted his eyes at the demon, indicating that he wasn’t at all pleased to see him.

 

“Were you here this whole time? Don’t you have somewhere better to be?”

 

Wonwoo touched Seungcheol’s arm lightly. Mingyu looked away as he got up from the ground.

 

“Seungcheol, it’s fine.”

 

“He keeps bothering you, right? Can’t you get rid of him with exorcism or something?

 

“Hey!”

 

“Seungcheol, just go home. I can handle him.”

 

“Are you sure?”

 

“Yeah, I am. He’s not as bad as he seems.”

 

Wonwoo’s comment made Mingyu’s heart rate accelerate slightly, and made Seungcheol slightly confounded. Both of them were surprised at his lack of coldness toward the demon.

 

“But didn’t he kidnap you yesterday?”

 

“Hey, that was because you-”

 

“Yeah, well his intentions weren’t bad.”

 

“I didn’t kidnap-”

 

“He made you cry!”

 

“That was my fault. Like I said, I can handle him.”

 

Seungcheol seemed to have run out of arguments, and accepted Wonwoo’s word.

 

“Oh… I… yeah okay. I’ll go home then.”

 

The boy left with a dazed look on his face, and didn’t look back once. Mingyu observed Wonwoo, who watched with a bittersweet smile as his brother left. When the boy was no longer in view, Wonwoo turned around to return back inside, leaving the door open for Mingyu to enter as well. The demon hesitated, but followed him inside.

 

Wonwoo’s behavior toward Mingyu still wasn’t friendly, but it was enough of a change to give him hope. He wasn’t necessarily opening himself to the demon, but he wasn’t closing himself off either. It was a small change, but it was a change nonetheless. Perhaps it _was_ possible to make him fall for Mingyu. It gave the demon enough confidence to take Hansol’s advice from earlier.

 

“Wonwoo!”

 

The boy jumped, startled from the sudden outburst. He turned himself to face the demon.

 

“W-what?”

 

“Let’s go to an amusement park!”

 

“What? What’s this all of a sudden?”

 

“We can go tomorrow, right?”

 

“What? No! I have work tomorrow.”

 

“Then when?”

 

Wonwoo crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.

 

“Why? Why do you want to go so badly?”

 

“Isn’t it obvious?” Mingyu mimicked the boy’s actions and crossed his arms as well. “I want to go on a date with you.”

 

Wonwoo almost fell over, but he caught himself just in time.

 

“And why would you want to do that?”

 

“Because I love you,” the demon said bluntly.

 

The boy froze. When he recovered from the shock, he turned away from the demon and started heading toward his room.  
 

“What the hell? You’re not supposed to say that so easily,” the boy mumbled.

 

The demon followed him.

 

“So, can we go? Is that a yes?”

 

Wonwoo stopped at the door to his bedroom and placed his hand on the doorknob.

 

“We can go on the weekend.”

 

He entered the room and quickly and shut the door, creating a slight gust of wind that parted the locks of hair on Mingyu’s face. A smile slowly crept onto the demon’s lips, and he started started laughing giddily.

 

“Go to sleep!” Wonwoo shouted from inside his room.

 

Mingyu went over to the couch and laid himself down, but there was no way he was going to get any sleep that night.


	10. How to Care for a Human

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a filler, but I still wouldn't skip it ;P

“No, you can’t come with me to work.”

 

Mingyu was blocking the way out of the front door with his body, his back leaning against it. His arms were outstretched, and his fingertips spread wide, trying to create as much of a barrier as possible. Wonwoo’s hand was securely holding the doorknob, the other hand holding onto a suitcase, and he was glaring at Mingyu, who was returning the fierce gaze. They were having a sort of unofficial staring contest, and they had been in this position for five minutes.

 

“What does it matter? I’ll make sure no one can see me.”

 

“That’s not the problem.”

 

“Then why not?”

 

“Mingyu, I’m going to be late, let me leave!”

 

“Take me with you!”

 

Wonwoo tried to open the door, but with Mingyu being impossibly strong, he wasn’t able to budge it in the slightest. The boy started to pant ever so slightly, and the demon wondered if he really exerted enough force to be out of breath. Then, the two continued staring at each other again, not blinking as if doing so meant defeat in their argument.

 

“Mingyu!”

 

“What’s wrong with wanting to spend more time with you?”

 

“You’ll spend time with me this weekend! Just be patient until then!”

 

“Wonwoo~”

 

“I can’t take you. You’re going to distract me. And I have work to do.”

 

“I won’t bother you.”

 

Wonwoo seemed to get more anxious with every tick of the clock. His foot tapped in impatience, and there was a frown plastered on his face, but Mingyu wouldn’t move from where he was. Another five minutes had passed.

 

“What do you want, huh? Is there anything you want _other_ than coming to work with me?”

 

With Wonwoo this desperate, Mingyu wondered how large of a request he could ask for. He wanted to follow Wonwoo to work, yes, but was there anything he wanted more? That was an easy question to answer. He could feel his heart start to pick up speed as he prepared himself to make his request. He licked his lips before speaking.

 

“I want a kiss.”

 

Wonwoo blinked, losing their unofficial contest. Without moving the rest of his body, the boy turned his head to the side and huffed a frustrated sigh, but then looked down at his watch. His foot stamped even harder as he thought about the two choices he had, and he rustled his hair from the stress. He looked at his watch again and took a deep breath.

 

“This doesn’t mean anything.”

 

Wonwoo took his hand off the doorknob and grabbed Mingyu’s collar instead. He pulled himself up to plant a quick peck on the demon’s cheek before coming back down, using the downward momentum to try to pull the demon away from the door with the hand that was still grabbing onto his collar. Because Mingyu didn’t resist this time, he was easily removed from the doorway. The boy stumbled a bit as he left.

 

Mingyu stood stunned because of just how easy that was. Granted, he was hoping for a kiss on the lips and not the cheek, but it wasn’t like he had specified. He could feel his heart thumping loudly, crashing against his chest at the unexpected rush of emotions as he recalled the fresh memory over again. He placed his hand over his chest, wondering if it was beating at a dangerous rate. The boy’s lips were soft, and quite warm. They seemed warmer than the first time they kissed to seal their contract, but maybe he just didn’t notice it then.

 

When his heart didn’t settle, he left the house to chase after the boy, who had not yet made it far. When he reached him, he noticed a slight flush on the boy’s face. Was it because he was jogging, or because of the kiss earlier? He ran to the side and slightly behind the boy in light steps.

 

“That stupid demon, I’m not going to make my bus…”

 

Wonwoo perked up ever so slightly in alertness when he noticed the sound of footsteps that weren’t his. He slowly looked back and saw Mingyu, who flashed him a smile. He coughed once before speaking discreetly in a loud whisper.

 

“Why are you here? I gave you your kiss. Go home!”

 

“I never said I would follow you if you kissed me… You only asked me what I wanted…”

 

Wonwoo slowed down his pace and eventually stopped. His expression was of one of disbelief and betrayal, with a hint of embarrassment. He sighed, looking up at the sky as he did so. Then, he paused, tilting his head slightly as if he had an epiphany. He looked at his watch, then at his surroundings, then at Mingyu.

 

“You know what? It’s your fault I’m late anyways. Can’t you fly me there or something? Would it be faster that way?”

 

The demon looked at their surroundings as well to see if anyone was watching. When he was sure that no one was watching, he shoved the boy into a hidden alleyway in order to keep anyone from watching, but the push resulted in Wonwoo almost falling over face first. Mingyu caught him before he hit the ground, but Wonwoo didn’t get up. Wonwoo’s eyes were closed, and his suitcase slipped out of his fingertips onto the floor. Something was wrong.

 

“Wonwoo?”

 

The demon flipped him over to see his face more clearly, and shook him a bit to try to wake him up. The boy was flushed, and his breathing wasn’t consistent. Mingyu also noticed that the boy was exuding more heat than usual.

 

“Wonwoo, wake up!”

 

When the boy didn’t wake, the demon was set to panic mode. He didn’t know what to do other than to bring Wonwoo back home, where he was in a safe place. He picked the boy up, along with the abandoned suitcase, and rushed back to the house. When he got there, he carefully placed the boy on top his own bed. He left the bedroom and closed the door behind him, and went to close the front door that he left open. Then, he called for Hansol.

 

“Hey, Mingyu! What’s up?” Hansol asked in a cheery manner.

 

“Hansol, help me, I think my human is dying!”

 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa… calm down. What’s wrong? He’s dying? What happened? Shouldn’t you take him to a hospital?”

 

“I don’t know… it just all happened so fast…”

 

“What’s wrong exactly? It’s hard for me to give you advice when I have nothing to go by.”

 

“Uh, he’s not waking up. He fell, and he’s not waking up. And he’s much warmer than he should be. I think he was acting a little strange this morning?”

 

“Strange how?”

 

“I…”

 

The demon was suddenly feeling self-conscious, remembering the kiss once again. He was ready to change the subject, but with Wonwoo’s life on the line, he decided to forget his pride.

 

“I asked him to kiss me and he did.”

 

Mingyu could feel himself burning up, and wondered if he should be worried about himself as well. However, by now he was familiar with the burning sensation being caused by something Wonwoo related.

 

“He kissed you? Nice!”

 

“Hansol, this isn’t the time. What should I do?”

 

“Sorry, was there anything else?”

 

The demon could hear Wonwoo having a coughing fit and rushed to the boy’s room. On his way there, he yelled into the phone.

 

“He’s coughing... do you think he had something poisonous?”

 

Mingyu opened the bedroom door and saw that Wonwoo was still lying down, but he was conscious. The boy rolled over onto his side so that his back was facing the demon. He then took out his own cellphone and dialed a number. He didn’t seem to notice that Mingyu was watching him.

 

Wonwoo put the phone over his ear and waited until someone picked up. Mingyu could hear a man’s deep voice pick up, and Wonwoo spoke.

 

“Team leader Lee? Sorry for calling last minute, but I don’t think I can make it to work.” He coughed. “I must have caught something over the weekend.”

 

Mingyu could hear the man respond. “Oh, okay. Make sure to get plenty of rest. If you’re not better tomorrow, don’t push yourself to come, okay?”

 

“Thank you, Team leader Lee.”

 

“Take care of yourself.”

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

Wonwoo ended the call and roughly tossed his phone onto the bedside table, groaning as he did so. He rubbed his face, and then curled into a ball.

 

“Mingyu?”

 

Hansol was still on the line, and the demon just then remembered it. He closed Wonwoo’s bedroom door and stepped into the living room.

 

“Yeah?”

 

Hansol sighed.

 

“How much of that did you hear?”

 

“How much of what?”

 

“None of it, I guess…”

 

“What?”

 

“I was just saying that it sounds like he’s sick, but I don’t think it’s anything deadly. He probably has a cold or flu or something like that. Just give him lots of love and care and he’ll be better in no time!”

 

“So he’s not dying?”

 

“No Mingyu, he’s not dying.”

 

“Okay… what do I do?”

 

And so Hansol instructed the demon on how to cure a sick patient. He gave him a list of foods Wonwoo should and shouldn’t eat, and told him to keep him warm and hydrated. He also told him that the most important thing was to allow Wonwoo to be as selfish as he wanted. It didn’t necessarily help cure a sickness, but would make it much more bearable.

 

Mingyu ended his phone call with Hansol before entering Wonwoo’s room once again. The boy was fast asleep, sprawled out on the bed with his tie loosened and a few of his buttons undone. He looked entirely defenseless. It was a sight Mingyu would have enjoyed, if not for the fact that he was worried about the boy. Wonwoo always had a wall built around himself, and it seemed to take such a painfully slow time to knock down even part of that wall. Seeing him relaxed, although he was suffering, made Mingyu almost grateful for the sickness.

 

“Wonwoo,” he called gently.

 

The boy furrowed his eyebrows as he slowly opened his eyes. After blinking a few times, he looked over at his visitor by the doorway.

 

“Mingyu? Ah, was it you who carried me here?”

 

Mingyu nodded.

 

“I see. Sorry for troubling you.”

 

That was the first time he heard anything close to an apology from Wonwoo. It shocked him, but he realized he shouldn’t take anything Wonwoo said to heart. Not today at least.

 

“Just let me sleep today. I’ll feel better in no time.”

 

He rolled over to his side and curled into a ball again, slightly shivering. As if it were a reflex, the demon ran to the hallway to find extra blankets. As many as he could find. Hansol told him to keep Wonwoo warm, after all. He was able to find three, one of which was so thin it could barely count for a blanket, but it was as good as he could get. He stepped back into Wonwoo’s room and laid the blankets one by one on top of the boy.

 

When he was finished with that, he went to fetch bottled waters and placed them on the bedside table. In case Wonwoo were to be too weak, he pre-opened the bottles so the boy wouldn’t have to struggle to open them. Then, he made his way to the kitchen.

 

Porridge. It was a simple dish that seemed simple to make. Unfortunately, the demon had never cooked anything before, so anything was bound to be a challenge for him. The first challenge was finding the ingredients. Luckily, there was rice already made in the rice cooker, leftovers from the day before. He looked all around for seemingly healthy ingredients, but all he could find were baby carrots. Carrot porridge it was.

 

Once the demon found a pot, the rest was self explanatory. Put everything in the pot and let it boil with some water. Besides the fact that it took him a while to figure out how the stove worked, Mingyu thought everything went smoothly. All he had to do was wait for the finished product. Hansol told him it would take around half an hour, so he stood in front of the stove the entire thirty minutes at the pot. It had a lid on it, so the only thing he could see was the steam escaping for the last half of the cooking time. He turned off the heat and let the pot cool before taking it to Wonwoo’s room.

 

Wonwoo was sound asleep, and he definitely seemed warmer than before. It almost seemed like a shame to wake him. So he didn’t. Instead, he set the pot of food down on the bedside table, pushing aside the other things that were already on there. He spilled one of the water bottles onto the floor as he did so, and was silently regretting that he opened them all, and not just one. After cleaning the spill as best as he could with a towel, he looked at the peacefully sleeping Wonwoo.

 

The boy had snuggled into the blankets, and had curled into a ball so much that his head was no longer resting on the pillow. Mingyu leaned over the bed to get a closer look at his face, placing a hand on the bed to keep his balance. Wonwoo’s expression was so peaceful it was almost calming. Since the boy wouldn’t be able to shoo him away, the demon took the opportunity to really look at the boy. What he found was that Wonwoo was beautiful. Mingyu wondered why he hadn’t really noticed before, but the boy in front of him was breathtakingly beautiful. Maybe it had to do with the fact that Mingyu was so used to seeing his own face that beautiful people didn’t faze him, but Wonwoo truly was his own work of art.

 

Mingyu did nothing but look at the boy for a long moment, and it wasn’t until his arm started to hurt from holding himself up that he realized it. He couldn’t wake the boy now, but he didn’t have anything to do with him asleep. So the demon lay down on the bed so that the two were facing each other. He draped his wing over the boy to provide some more warmth, and then watched him sleep. He watched the boy’s chest rise and fall subtly and his index finger twitch every so often. He wondered what Wonwoo was dreaming about right then, and if Mingyu ever appeared in any of his dreams previously. He wondered how often the boy thought about him during the day, if at all. Thoughts like these occupied the demon’s mind, and slowly lulled him to sleep.


	11. The Confession: Take Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wonwoo's POV in the first part, but then it switched to Mingyu's POV  
> Also a reminder that demons have excellent hearing.

Wonwoo felt himself slipping back into consciousness, waking up from being too hot. He could feel a thin layer of sweat all over his body, and it was uncomfortable enough for him to want to get up. He opened his eyes to find Mingyu sleeping in front of him. When he first saw the demon’s sleeping face, he was puzzled, but the morning’s events slowly came back into his memory. He vaguely remembered being carried to the bed, and then later calling to take a day off work. He concluded that he fell asleep soon after that. After resting for so long, he felt much better, even if he wasn’t completely cured.

 

He tried to lift the layered blankets off, but they were too heavy. He looked at the blankets and saw one of Mingyu’s large wings on top of him. He never thought that his wings would be so heavy. He gave up trying to move it, and opted for snaking his way out from the covers. He enjoyed the refreshingly cool air biting into his skin as he stretched. Once he was fully awake, he made the motion to reach for his phone to check for any messages, but when he looked at the bedside table, he found that there were more things there than he remembered.

 

For one, there were several water bottles that were sitting there, already opened. And for another, there was a large, lidded pot. He hovered his hand around the sides to check if any heat radiated from it, but when there was no heat, he lightly touched it. It was cold. He opened the lid out of curiosity and nearly laughed at the poor excuse of porridge that was inside. The rice itself was fine, but the problem was what was in the porridge. There was only one other ingredient, it seemed, and it was carrots. Baby carrots. And the carrots weren’t sliced up in the slightest. There were whole baby carrots being suspended by the thick porridge.

 

Wonwoo chuckled softly, thinking about how clumsy Mingyu was. The demon was probably thousands of years older, but somehow, he seemed younger.

 

The boy brought his head toward the pot to sniff it. Not surprisingly, it smelled plain. He took the pot and brought it to the kitchen and placed it on the stove, wanting to warm it up a bit. While he was up, he decided to enhance the porridge a bit. It was too late to salvage the giant chunks of carrots, but he could add a few things to make it less plain. He chopped up some onions and radish and added them to the pot, stirring gently until well heated. When those were cooked, he added beaten eggs and a splash of soy sauce, then topped it off with decorative seaweed and roasted sesame seeds.

 

The boy was hungry from not having eaten for so long, and porridge was the ideal meal. He sat himself down on the dining table to eat, bringing the pot with him, not bothering to scoop some of the porridge out in a separate bowl. He was able to cut some of the carrots into chunks with his spoon, since they were boiled for so long, so it ended up not being that bad. He did laugh a few times to himself when he remembered how ridiculously large they were originally.

 

He wasn’t able to finish the entire pot, but he did have a decent amount. Enough to make him feel full at least. After eating, and the fact that he didn’t have work, he felt like he had a lot of time and nothing to do. So he went over to the couch to watch some variety shows.

 

Soon, Wonwoo was laughing his heart out at the ridiculous missions that the variety show members were forced to complete. He must have been louder than he realized, because Mingyu had emerged from the hallway, looking curiously at what made Wonwoo laugh so hard in the first place.

 

The boy suddenly felt self-conscious. especially since not many knew of his love for variety shows. He hadn’t meant to wake the demon up, but it was too late to change the channel. The demon didn’t seem to care though. He stood by the hall, not approaching Wonwoo, eyed the boy cautiously.

 

“Are you… better?”

 

“Better than this morning,” Wonwoo replied calmly.

 

The demon looked at the kitchen and dining room, his eyes spotting the pot that contained the porridge he made.

 

“I see you ate.”

 

“Yes, I did.”

 

“It wasn’t bad?”

 

“No.”

 

Wonwoo hadn’t intentionally made the conversation awkward. He wanted to be nicer to the demon, since he put so much effort into caring for his sick self, but it was surprisingly hard to keep a friendly conversation.

 

“What are you watching?”

 

“Oh this? It’s a variety show, where the members do all kinds of challenges that seem pretty impossible, and they’re competing against each other, and sometimes against other famous people, and it’s really interesting to see when idols break their image, but that’s okay, we know they’re all human. It’s really funny, and I don’t know how they keep coming up with ideas for the show.”

 

Mingyu’s eyebrows were raised slightly, and Wonwoo was positive that it was because of his excited rant, rather than the contents of the rant. When the boy realized what just happened, he clamped his mouth shut, not wanting to embarrass himself any further. He must have sounded so childish just then. He looked away and cleared his throat to regain some of his adult pride.

 

“Anyways, it’s just a show.”

 

“Can I watch with you?”

 

Wonwoo looked at Mingyu, who took a step in his direction. He didn’t seem to have any evil intentions.

 

The boy patted the couch on the empty spot next to him, and the demon walked over to sit down. He sat almost politely, slowly sinking into the couch, keeping his back mostly straight. He stared intensely into the TV, and he slowly relaxed into a comfortable position. Soon, the two of them were laughing along to the comedic moments on screen.

 

For the first time, Wonwoo thought that maybe it wasn’t so bad to open up to people.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

It was finally the day Mingyu had been waiting for. The day he had the chance to be on a date alone with Wonwoo.

 

Mingyu was excited for the long awaited day, and the two of them left to go the amusement park together. The demon was in his human form so that he could freely interact with Wonwoo without the boy looking like he was talking to himself. They would look like a couple in the eyes of many, since two people on an outing as such usually meant they were dating. Only, it wasn’t just the two of them. To the demon’s great disappointment, when they go to the gates, Seungcheol was there. When Seungcheol spotted the two of them approach him, he looked equally as disappointed.

 

“Wonwoo, what is _he_ doing here? You never mentioned him! I thought we were just going to spend some quality time together!”

 

“What do you mean what am _I_ doing here? _I’m_ the one that planned this. What are _you_ doing here?”

 

Seungcheol pouted and turned his face away, not looking at the demon. So the demon turned the target of his question.

 

“Wonwoo, this is supposed to be a d _ate_. Why is _Seongchoon_ here when it’s supposed to be the two of us?”

 

Seungcheol scoffed. “A _date_? You wanted to go on a _date_ with Wonwoo? Don’t make me laugh. What makes you think he would want to go on a date with _you_? I get it now, that’s why he must have invited me. So he isn’t alone with you.”

 

Wonwoo sighed, looking between the two unhappy characters. “Seungcheol, be nice. And still, Mingyu? You still don’t know his name?”

 

“...”

 

“...”

 

He sighed again and started walking through the entrance without them.

 

“Are you guys coming?”

 

Mingyu and Seungcheol gave each other a quick glare, silently gaining a sense of rivalry before following the boy.

 

At first, Wonwoo was seemed most enthusiastic for the rides. First, Wonwoo suggested a haunted house, despite Seuncheol’s protests. Not knowing what to expect, Mingyu agreed with Wonwoo, making the vote two to one in favor of going in. It was supposed to be scary, but Mingyu wasn’t entertained by it in the slightest. Everything was tacky and poorly done in his eyes. Seungcheol, on the other hand, must have found it horrifying. As much as he tried to convince the other two that he was fine, he would scream in fear every time someone or something jumped out. Wonwoo didn’t seem scared at all. Instead, he laughed every time a scream formed in Seungcheol’s mouth. He playfully comforted him, but it looked like he was having more fun watching Seungcheol have mini heart attacks than watching the actual haunted house.

 

After they exited, Wonwoo suggested going in again, but when Seungcheol begged with a pout on his face for them to try something else, he complied. They decided to ride the roller coasters instead, and Seungcheol’s face instantly brightened up. When they go to the ride, Seungcheol and Mingyu argued over which one of them would sit with Wonwoo, but Wonwoo forced them to sit together while he sat with a stranger. Neither one was entirely happy with the results, but soon enough, neither came to care. The roller coaster was a ride that Mingyu came to enjoy. So much that they rode it another four times after that. So much that now, Mingyu was the most eager of the three. So much, that the tension between him and Seungcheol seemed to have dissolved into nothing. Almost nothing, at least. Mingyu was still bitter that he was there in the first place, but he got over it. The three continued to ride the rides that they came across, sometimes riding them multiple times.

 

Wonwoo was a bit exhausted after the multiple rides, and decided that it was time for a food break.

 

“I’ll buy. What do you guys want?”

 

“No,” said Seungcheol. “I’ll buy. you can wait here.”

 

“I’m the one with a job, remember? What do you want?”

 

Seungcheol thought for a moment. “How about we each pay for half?”

 

“If that’s what you want, then sure. Mingyu?”

 

“I don’t know what they sell… can’t I come with you?”

 

Wonwoo responded, but Mingyu couldn’t hear what he said because another voice from above had covered it up.

 

“Sir Mingyu!”

 

Mingyu recognized the voice, and when he looked up, he recognized the small stature of a demon that was flying his way to him.

 

“Actually, you two can go buy food. I’ll wait here,” Mingyu told the two in front of him, still looking at the demon in the sky.

 

“Is everything alright?” asked a slightly concerned Wonwoo.

 

“Yeah.”

 

Wonwoo looked and Seungcheol, then back at Mingyu. “Okay then. Try not to wander anywhere.”

 

Mingyu looked around to find the closest bench and sat down. Not long after, the demon from before was in front of him.

 

It was Lee Jihoon, a messenger demon. He was an upper mid-ranked demon who had been a messenger for some time now. Although he could have been ranked higher, he often got into fights with other demons, resulting in demerits. His eyes were pink, not quite red, as he wasn’t quite an upper level demon, and his hair was pink to match, though this was an oddity. Both his stature and size of wings were small, and like most demons, had bat-like wings.

 

Mingyu leered at him for interrupting his half-date with Wonwoo. He crossed his legs and arms.

 

“What do you want, Jihoon?”

 

“I’ve brought a message from demon lord Jisoo.”

 

“And?”

 

“I spent three whole days searching for you, can’t you be a little nicer than that?” grumbled the small demon.

 

Jihoon was never one to keep formalities for very long. His lack of respect also cause demerits. He didn’t seem to care much for his rank though.

 

Mingyu sighed. “What message do you have for me?”

 

“The lord has planned for population control to take place in this city. Just a warning.”

 

“So he’s telling me to watch my bound human. Got it.”

 

“Don’t want to start your punishment all over again, now do we? But…” Jihoon looked around. “I saw you with _two_ humans.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“So, which one of them is yours?”

 

“Did you get a good look at their faces?”

 

Jihoon nodded.

 

“The better looking one.”

 

Jihoon nodded again. “Ah…”

 

“Why?”

 

“No, it’s just… I’ve never seen such a worthy looking human. He was quite beautiful.”

 

Mingyu stammered slightly. “O-of course he is. I didn’t think any other demon would notice…”

 

“I mean, he _is_ beautiful. What a shame he’s human.”

 

Mingyu sighed. “Yeah.”

 

Mingyu spotted the two humans making their way back with food, and both he and Jihoon perked up slightly.

 

“Jihoon, while you’re here in the human world, do you think you can do me a favor? I have something important to do and I need to be alone with my human.”

 

“I… guess…”

 

“Okay, I need you to distract the other human somehow. You can be in your human form. It should make things easier. If possible, distract him all day.”

 

“All day? Do I get anything in return?”

 

“I’ve put in a good word about you to the upper levels.”

 

“Deal.”

 

“Wait for my signal, okay? I’ll whisper something to you. Just stay close enough to hear.”

 

Just then, Seungcheol dropped his drink in the distance. He made a pitiful face while Wonwoo laughed gently beside him.

 

“Man, is your human always that clumsy?”

 

“What?”

 

“He just dropped something.”

 

“That’s not my human.”

 

“What?”

 

“What?”

 

“You said the better looking one was your human!”

 

“Yeah.”

 

Jihoon and Mingyu looked at each other, silently judging the other. When the humans were getting near, they broke eye contact as Mingyu hastily shooed Jihoon away, reminding him to wait in his human form for the signal to distract Seungcheol. He made sure to tell Jihoon that Seungcheol was the one who spilled the drink.

 

Mingyu casually greeted them as if he was waiting alone the entire time. They were probably too busy with their occupied hands to notice that the demon was talking to “air”, but other bystanders had noticed and kept their distance away from him.

 

Wonwoo and Seungcheol sat down next to the demon, and they ate their food while talking about the haunted house. Seungcheol didn’t actively participate in the conversation until they mentioned the viking, which is when he took control and spoke more than the other two. They peacefully enjoyed their meal.

 

When they finished eating, Mingyu was the one to suggest the next ride.

 

“Let’s ride the ferris wheel next.”

 

“The line’s always so long though,” complained Seungcheol.

 

Mingyu was irritated at the boy who was trying to ruin his plans to confess to Wonwoo in the ferris wheel. He waited all week for this, and he couldn’t let Seungcheol’s complaints spoil this.

 

“Shut up, Seulcheon, I didn’t ask you. Wonwoo?”

 

Wonwoo’s lower lip came out a bit and his eyebrows furrowed slightly. “I’ll agree if you call him by his name. I _know_ you know it.”

 

Mingyu growled while he glanced at Seungcheol, then crossed his arms. He needed to get Wonwoo to the ferris wheel, and saying a name was a small price to pay. If that was all it took, then that was fine.

 

“Seungcheol, I don’t particularly care if you want to ride the ferris wheel or not, so I’m not going to ask for your opinion. Wonwoo, let’s go, I said his name.”

 

Mingyu and Wonwoo walked to the ferris wheel, and Seungcheol followed. He wasn’t a fan of long lines, but he wasn’t going to get left behind.

 

So the three of them stood at the very back of the line. It inched forward painfully slowly, and more people got in line behind them. It was going to be a long wait. The three talked about pointless things, mainly about their opinions on the rides. It didn’t make the line go any faster though. When they were finally nearing the front, with only a couple people in front of them, Mingyu discreetly whispered off to the side.

 

“Okay, Jihoon. Get ready. I hope you’re there.”

 

“About time. Do you know how bored I am?” Jihoon whispered back. “I’ve been hiding being this bush for the longest time.”

 

The people in front of them got in a cabin, and the trio was to ride the next one.

 

When the next cabin was descending, Mingyu whispered to Jihoon. “Now, distract him now.”

 

Mingyu saw the small demon in human form emerge from a bush. Both his eyes and hair were darkened, but not quite black. They were barely dark brown. Other than that and his lack of wings, the demon looked the same as if he were a demon.

 

Jihoon ran from the bush straight to Seungcheol and grabbed his hand. The startled boy didn’t seem to know how to react, so when Jihoon pulled him away, he simply let himself be pulled. Wonwoo was about to call for him, but Mingyu grabbed his hand and pulled him to the cabin, which now had open doors and was waiting for the next guests in line to enter. Wonwoo couldn’t resist Mingyu’s strength, so the two of them made it in quickly. When the door closed Wonwoo looked at it as if he wanted to leave.

 

“Why did you pull me in like that? Some stranger took Seungcheol away!”

 

“It’s fine.”

 

“It’s not fine, he could be lured somewhere to be kidnapped or something!”

 

“I know the guy. It’s fine.”

 

Wonwoo blinked at him. “Oh, really? But… why did he do that?”

 

“He has his reasons.”

 

“And you’re not planning to tell me those reasons.”

 

“No.”

 

Wonwoo leaned back and sighed. “Then it’s just you and me for the next fifteen minutes.”

 

“I’m okay with that. It means this can finally feel like a date.”

 

The boy opened his mouth to speak, but closed it and looked out the window, resting his elbow on the edge. Mingyu could swear the boy’s cheeks were slightly flushed, but it could have been his imagination. Either way, it made the demon self-conscious of himself. He straightened his back and placed his hands on his knees.

 

The main point of this was to confess to Wonwoo at the top. There was approximately seven minutes until then. Within those seven minutes, the demon had planned to have small talk with the human, but now that they were there, he couldn’t think of anything to say. The first five minutes ended with silence, but after that it was thankfully broken by Wonwoo.

 

“I never thanked you for the other day.”

 

The demon wasn’t expecting the sudden invitation for conversation, so he was a little slow in registering the boy’s words.

 

“Hmm?”

 

“You know… when I was sick…”

 

“Ah…”

 

“So yeah, thanks.”

 

The demon cleared his throat. He looked up at the ceiling to think of a response.

 

“Y-you’re the only one I would do that for…”

 

“Because you don’t want me to die?”

 

“Because I love you.”

 

This time, Wonwoo definitely turned slightly red. He looked down and played with his fingers. “Again,” he mumbled. “You keep saying that so easily. Do you know how heavy of words those are to humans?”

 

Mingyu was cursing at himself for having ruined his own plans. They weren’t quite at the top, but he already confessed again. Since he already blurted it out, he decided to continue.

 

“I love you. Don’t say anything and just listen. I love you and I mean it. Don’t think I’m just throwing words at you. I think about you all the time, and you make my heart beat like it’s trying to tell me something. I… I think I would get sick if you were away from me for too long, but I also feel sick when I’m with you. No, not sick… Like I’m under a spell. A spell that makes me entranced by you. I want to see you smile for me. I want you to be mine. Our souls are already bound, but your heart doesn’t belong to me, and that… that troubles me...”

 

The demon felt out of breath as he finished the last sentence. Confessing was exhausting, and his heart rate wasn’t helping him catch his breath. He realized he was looking at his hands the entire time, so he looked up to see how Wonwoo had reacted.

 

He was still red, but he was looking at Mingyu. He seemed embarrassed, but also sad.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“For what?”

 

“I’m sorry for not treating your feelings seriously. And... I’m sorry you love me.”

 

“Why?”

 

“I don’t deserve anyone’s love. I don’t know what you saw in me that you feel this way about me, but I’m not someone who should be loved.”

 

“But why?”

 

The boy looked out the window.

 

“I’m just not a good person. God warned me to stay away from people a long time ago.”

 

“God? I know about you humans and religion and all, but God doesn’t exist. I don’t know what you’re trying to say.”

 

Wonwoo smiled sadly. “It’s nothing. Nevermind.”

 

The boy looked out the window. “What a beautiful view, right?”

 

Mingyu didn’t look out. He kept watching Wonwoo, but the boy didn’t seem to notice. There was a tight squeeze in the demon’s chest, and his heart started to throb painfully. He kept looking and the beautiful boy who wouldn’t give Mingyu a place in his heart.

 

“Yeah... so beautiful it hurts.”

  
They rode the ferris wheel in silence the rest of the time. The awkward air was no longer there, but the silence was painful in a different way.


	12. Fallen Angel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Character death

It was almost noon and Wonwoo still hadn’t woken up. Mingyu watched the clock as it ticked away, and kept alert for any signs that the boy would wake up soon. When he didn't, the demon was worried that what he said yesterday triggered unpleasant memories within Wonwoo, and he might get sick again somehow. The boy was resting for an awfully long time, and it didn't seem to be a good sign. Mingyu didn’t want Wonwoo to get sick again, and he especially didn’t want to be the cause of it.

 

Giving up waiting for Wonwoo to wake up, he let the boy rest, being careful about not making any loud noises. It wasn't hard when there was nothing to do, but the problem was, that there was nothing to do. He wanted to do something to kill the time, but he was afraid he would get too loud if he watched TV. He turned it on anyways, needing to do something to occupy himself, but switched it to some boring news channel in order to prevent himself from laughing. It was better than doing absolutely nothing in silence. He made sure to keep the volume as low as possible. He could hear it well enough anyways.

 

Not even fifteen minutes had passed, and he was already bored out of his mind. He would have taken a nap, but he was wide awake. He didn't think anything would heal his boredom. Thankfully, he got a call from Hansol, and that would occupy him for the time being.

 

The phone rang, and the demon picked it up before the first ring was even over. He still didn’t want to make unnecessary noises, after all.

 

“Hello?”

 

“Happy Birthday, Mingyu!”

 

Mingyu was confused at first, because he had forgotten all about the silly day that humans celebrated for their own self-esteem.

 

“What? Was that today?”

 

“Yes it was today, how could you forget? Do you really not celebrate birthdays in the demon world?”

 

“Why should we? Do you know how many years we live? There’s no need to celebrate every passing one.”

 

“Well, anyways, you promised to celebrate it with me, so I hope you’re not doing anything today.”

 

Mingyu thought about Wonwoo, and how he just wanted him to rest today. Maybe it would be best if the demon left the house.”

 

“I’m not. What do you have planned?”

 

“Great! I’m already at the meeting place. I’ll send you the address now.”

 

“Where is it?”

 

“Actually it’s a little ways away, but it shouldn’t take longer than 30 minutes by subway.”

 

“That far? Why did you only call me now, then? We could have went together.”

 

“Uh… because… no reason! Just come as soon as possible, okay?”

 

“Very well.”

 

“Did you get the address?”

 

Mingyu pulled the phone away from his ear to look at the message he received. He pulled up the address on a map. It was a little far. What was Hansol doing there?

 

“I got it.”

 

“Have you eaten anything yet?”

 

The question reminded Mingyu of his empty stomach. He place a hand on it, wishing it had food in it.

 

“No... why?”

 

“Great! Just come over as soon as possible, okay? Then I’ll see you-”

 

Mingyu could hear the crash as the phone fell onto some hard surface. He also heard strange noises, and people’s voices. It sounded like… something was crashing? He thought he heard Hansol shout, but the noise was slightly muffled.

 

“Hansol? Hansol, what is it?”

 

Then, a loud noise before the call got disconnected. Was it... an explosion? He couldn't tell. Mingyu felt a panic start to rise in his throat from the uncertainty. What just happened? Something didn't feel quite right. He felt the ground sway beneath his feet. Or was he just dizzy? He was extremely disturbed by the way the call ended.

 

He dialed Hansol’s number and waited for him to pick up. When he didn’t, the demon called again. He started pacing back and forth in Wonwoo’s living room from the anxiety building up. His chest was tight with worry. He sat down on the couch to calm down, but then stood back up. Sitting made him more anxious. As the dial tone kept ringing, Mingyu kept biting his lip. Every time the automated message played, he immediately ended the call to redial it. Hansol finally picked up after the seventh time he called.

 

“Hansol?”

 

“Sorry… I think... I’m going to have to cancel our plans,” the boy said softly with breathy words.

 

“Hansol, what happened?”

 

The boy laughed weakly.

 

“Who would have thought?”

 

“What?”

 

“Something like this would happen… today of all days…”

 

"What happened? Tell me, Hansol, what happened?"

 

Mingyu’s ears picked up something he didn’t like. The TV was still on, and the news was still playing. It gave him news he didn’t want to hear.

 

“ _We interrupt the program with some breaking news, earlier today, there was a large scale earthquake , and it seems to have caused some major damage…_ ”

 

Mingyu felt a sudden drop in his chest. Whatever empty space was left behind was filled with dread and horror. His eyes were wide with realization.

 

_No, no, no, don’t tell me_

 

He looked at the TV screen, watching videos of collapsed buildings and still bodies. He read the name of the location listed on the banner. It was too familiar of a name, and he knew he read it somewhere recently. He swallowed, despite the lump forming in his throat. He then slowly pulled his phone from his ear and went back to his messages. He read the address that Hansol sent him just before.

 

It was the same district. The earthquake happened in the same district he was supposed to meet Hansol.

 

Mingyu was out the door before he could even think. He held the phone to his ear to try to get Hansol to speak.

 

“Hansol! Are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?”

 

“I might... not be completely okay,” he responded, his voice shaking at the end. He tried to sound cheerful. He coughed a few times. “Mingyu, I’m sorry...I don’t know... if I’m going to make it.”

 

Mingyu  quickly spread his wings to propel himself into the air. It was the fastest way to get there. He knew which direction he was supposed to be headed, and he worked his wings as hard as he could. The rush of adrenaline helped him pump his wings faster than he thought was possible.

 

“Hansol, hang in there!”

 

“Before it’s too late... I just want to thank you…”

 

“You’re going to be fine!”

 

“For being... a real friend to me.”

 

“Hansol! Save your breath, I can help you!”

 

The boy coughed. “Nah, it’s probably too late. Just… just hear me out, okay?”

 

“Stay where you are, I’m coming to get you!”

 

“I don’t think I’ve ever been happier... than the time I spent with you.” He paused, catching his breath. “It’s been real fun... even though it was really... short.”

 

“Hansol…”

 

The boy coughed again. “I love you, man... Not in the way that you love that human... but the way friends... should love each other.” He paused again, taking an even longer break than the last time. Mingyu could hear him shudder. “The way family loves each other. And... I bet you’re way older than I am, but... you’re like... the younger brother I never had, you know?”

 

Mingyu was near. He recognized where he was based on the map he studied earlier, but he couldn’t pinpoint Hansol’s exact location. He scanned the area. There was smoke and crumbled buildings everywhere. But where was Hansol?

 

“Hansol, where are you?”

 

“Funny how fate works, huh? As soon as… life gets going for you… it’s over before you know it…”

 

“I can help you! Just tell me where you are!”

 

“I hope your love goes well…”

 

“Hansol!”

 

“Sorry I ruined your birthday…”

 

“HANSOL!”

 

When he no longer heard any responses, he started screaming even harder into the phone while still searching from the skies. He knew he was in the right area, but _where exactly were they supposed to meet_?

 

He kept screaming Hansol’s name, over and over, hoping for a response. If he fell unconscious, hopefully his screams would wake him up. He had to know where he was if he was going to save him. The silence from the other end was agitating. He didn’t know what he was doing, and the ever growing feeling of dread made him start to tremble inside. He was having trouble keeping the phone to his ear because it was shaking so hard.

 

He wanted so much for Hansol to be okay. He feared so much that he wasn’t.

 

He looked at the chaos beneath him. It was desolate. People and buildings were collapsed, and there were others who were running around. Bright lights flashed from police cars and ambulances, and people were yelling in panic. He could hear wails from a child in the distance. It was too devastating. Any other day, Mingyu wouldn’t have been phased, but it was different when Hansol was possibly in that mess.

 

The demon yelled into the phone once again, and like the other times, Hansol didn’t respond. However, he could hear his own voice reverberating from somewhere in the rubble below. Mingyu could barely hear it because of the other commotion, but he could hear it. It meant that he was hearing himself from Hansol’s phone. He swooped down to the ground, being careful with his landing. About half of the buildings around were still intact. Mingyu swallowed. _Which one was Hansol in?_

 

He suddenly felt like he no longer had a voice. The fear had taken over his body, and he was frozen, yet shaking violently at the same time. But he had to find out. The other noises started to drown out, and he focused on the one sound he was searching for. He brought the phone to his mouth.

 

“Hansol?”

 

_“Hansol?”_

 

Mingyu heard the voice behind him. Slowly, he turned around, desperately wishing Hansol was behind him, smiling cheerfully, and nothing was wrong. It was all just a prank. His heart was beating harshly, telling him not to do it. Telling him to just go back home. He thought his heart was going to bruise his chest from how hard it was beating. Still, his chest was hurting more from something else. From trepidation. When he fully turned around, his heart almost stopped. It was a collapsed building. The sound had come from a collapsed building. He spoke into the phone one more time to make sure.

 

“H-hansol?”

 

_“H-hansol?”_

 

There was no doubt. It was where the sound came from. He walked up the the mess of a building and started removing the rubble, piece by piece, throwing it off to the side. He kept telling himself that Hansol was still okay. He was just trapped in the pile. He just couldn’t speak right at that moment.

 

But then, he lifted a piece of rubble that revealed what he dreaded. Hansol was lying there peacefully with his eyes closed, and his skin was pale white. If it weren’t for the blood, it would look like he was resting temporarily. If it weren’t for the scenery, it would look like he was just a sleeping angel. A beautiful, sleeping angel.

 

Mingyu reached for the boy’s face, flinching at how cold it was to the touch. He was too late. If Hansol were still breathing, he could have saved him. If only he flew here faster. If only Hansol weren’t here on this day. He recalled the message that Jihoon brought to him just yesterday. That demon lord Jisoo was planning for population control. Why hadn’t he remembered to warn Hansol? Why?

 

If only Mingyu had warned him. Then this wouldn’t have happened.

 

He wondered what Hansol was doing here. Why did he come here of all places? Why did he come alone? Mingyu looked around, finally taking note of his surroundings. Something caught his eye. It was a broken, neon sign, only part of it lit up. It flickered slightly, which was why he noticed it in the first place, it gave him enough of a clue as to why Hansol was here. This wasn’t just some random building. It was a cake shop. Hansol came here to buy Mingyu the ice cream cake he had promised. Hansol came here because he wanted to celebrate Mingyu’s birthday.

 

Hansol came here because of him.

 

Mingyu found it hard to swallow. This was completely his fault. He could have easily prevented this, but he was stupid. He was an awful friend. Why did Hansol thank him? What reason did he have for thanking him? Mingyu was nothing but awful to him, when Hansol did so much for him. He didn’t deserve Hansol’s friendship. He didn’t deserve it. Hansol didn’t deserve this fate.

 

Mingyu could feel his eyes starting to burn, and soon after, his vision was blurred. He was too grieved to care about what was happening to him. He blinked, and his vision cleared. He felt a warm drop of something on his hand and looked down at it. It was water. Is that what came from his eyes? Was he… crying? As he thought this, he could feel the hot liquid streaming down his cheeks. He was crying. It was a strange sensation. He didn’t know that demons _could_ cry.

 

He wiped away the tears that he had never felt before, and then stroked Hansol’s soft hair. What poor fate he had for ever having met the demon. All Mingyu could do now was regret. Hansol’s soul was probably collected a long time ago, and now all that was left was an empty shell of a body, but Mingyu couldn’t find himself to abandon it. He didn’t know what to do.

 

He scooped up Hansol’s empty body and started walking away, shielding the boy by casting a spell to make them concealed to the human eye. He didn’t want anyone else to see the boy in such a state. He didn’t know where else to go, so he walked in the direction of Hansol’s home. He felt lifeless, almost as empty as Hansol’s body. His wings had no will to fly, and his legs barely had the will to move him forward through the chaos that was still taking place. He ignored the screams and the smoke, the sirens and the dust. He moved slowly, but he did move forward. Step by step, with his best friend in his arms, he moved forward. Nothing but the same few words came out of the demon’s mouth.

 

“I’m sorry, Hansol… I’m so sorry…”

 

His words grew weaker and weaker every time they were uttered, but he kept repeating them. He couldn’t convey the guilt enough, even though the boy wasn’t even there to hear it. His tears refused to stop, and he didn’t fight them. Who else would cry for him if not Mingyu?

 

For hours, he trudged on ahead, slowly taking steps. His arms grew tired, but never tired enough to put the boy down. He couldn’t let him down. But what was he supposed to do? He felt like a lost child, wandering some hopeless woods, hoping for someone to come find him. He knew no one would. He brought himself there. It was all his fault. Everything was his fault.

 

Time passed incredibly slowly. He watched at the sun and clouds shifted positions, but somehow it felt like he was in the same place.

 

Finally, he was back at his district. He let his feet take him to where they pleased, because the demon’s mind was too empty to think. They led him to a park. It was the same park where he had first met the boy. He gently lay the boy down on the soft bed of grass.

 

By this time, he decided that he would burn the body. He couldn’t let anyone else touch his precious Hansol. He couldn’t let anyone taint him with their hands. He wanted Hansol to be able to leave the world in its pure state. Before he did that, he wanted to give him something, but he didn’t know what. He didn’t have much around.

 

His cell phone was the only thing he had on him. The demon pulled it out and placed the device on Hansol’s chest, but not before removing the bunny charm and pocketing it. Hansol was the only one he had called anyways. What good would a phone be if he wasn’t there? The demon plucked a feather from his wing and placed it on the boy’s chest as well. It wasn’t much, but he would be taking a part of the demon with him. Mingyu placed a hand on his chest. It felt so empty that Hansol must have taken part of that too.

 

The demon backed away from the boy and cast a spell to ignite the grass around him. He watched the flames flicker and lick the boy’s body. Despite the flames, the boy still looked so peaceful. Perhaps, the flame would warm him up. Perhaps, he wouldn’t feel so cold anymore.

 

Mingyu looked at the sky, watching at the grey smoke fluttered into the air. It was so lively, just like Hansol once was. Fitting.

 

The demon could feel the hot tears fill his eyes again, but he was now used to the feeling. He remembered his phone call with Hansol just hours ago, and how the boy told him he loved him. The tears started to overflow and roll down his cheeks. The regretful feelings were growing.

  
He didn’t know until now, just how much he loved Hansol too.


	13. Regret

Wonwoo woke up several times throughout the night, thanks to the same recurring nightmare. It wasn’t a violent nightmare, but it was a nightmare nonetheless. It was a memory of his childhood of the day that changed his life forever. The day of his eighth birthday. The day he last saw his parents. When Wonwoo opened the door expecting them with his best friend, but instead found police officers. How they calmly relayed the news of their death. How Wonwoo thought they were liars. When he found out that they weren’t.

 

Wonwoo pulled the blanket away, feeling too hot to be under it. He lay there with his eyes open as they adjusted to the darkness. He would stay awake for half an hour before trying to sleep again, only to wake up again from the same nightmare. It had been so long since he dreamt it, but suddenly it kept coming back multiple times in the same night.

 

Was it because he recalled the events earlier that day?

 

When Mingyu confessed to him, it was strange. It felt unreal. Though the demon confessed before, it was the first time Wonwoo _felt_ it. It was the first time he could feel the sincerity in his words, and it moved him just a tiny bit. But remembering why he didn’t involve himself with people in the first place, Wonwoo couldn’t even think about considering the confession. It wasn’t like he was going to, but he couldn’t anyways.

 

Because the world had its way of telling him that he wasn’t allowed to love anyone.

 

The first, when he was a child and lost the people he loved most. Then, when he almost lost Seungcheol. He remembered the day he got a call. He remembered how he felt like death all over again.

 

_It was the day he was going to confess to Seungcheol. He loved him long enough, and thought that maybe he had a chance. They weren’t related by blood, so there was nothing wrong with it. He loved Seungcheol, and Seungcheol loved him back. He didn’t know if it was a romantic love, or just a familial one, but he loved Wonwoo, and that gave him enough courage to want to confess. He chose some arbitrary day to do it. It was going to be a Friday after he got off from work. They were going to eat meat for no reason. Just celebrating life._

_Oh, how ironic that was._

_He remembered working his usual boring hours at work, when he got a message from his team leader. He remembered his team leader with a troubled expression, telling him to brace himself. He remembered hearing the words, “Your brother got in an accident,” and no longer being able to hear anything after that. He remembered falling to the floor, too weak to stand, losing the will to do anything. He remembered dreading that it was a repeat of what happened so long ago._

_It wasn’t until he was shaken by the shoulder that he started listening again. He heard the words, “He’s still alive,” and suddenly finding himself praying, even though he wasn’t religious._

_This team leader gave him the day off, and Wonwoo rushed to the hospital. After frantically asking the receptionist where he was, and running down the halls despite being reprimanded for it, he found the operation room his beloved brother was in. The red light was still on, and all Wonwoo could do was wait._

_He sat down on the bench, leaning forward and propping his elbows on his knees lacing his fingers together. His leg kept vigorously bouncing up and down as he waited for the news. He hoped for good news, but expected the bad. He didn’t know what he would do if Seungcheol was taken from him too._

_If Seungcheol was taken from him, he would no longer have anyone else._

_Every tick of the clock seemed to take longer to come. He perked up every time he heard a door open, but it was never the door he was waiting for. He watched as people walked by with their feet shuffling against the tile. The light above him flickered, faltering like Wonwoo’s heart. If he heard bad news, he couldn’t imagine being able to live any longer. He would want to go with Seungcheol, wherever he was going._

_Even if it was to the depths of hell._

_There was a loud click from above, and Wonwoo looked up expectantly. He saw that the operating light was switched off, and quickly stood up. The doors opened, and out came a physician. He looked at Wonwoo._

_“Are you here for Choi Seungcheol?”_

_“Yes! I’m family. How is he?”_

_The physician took a breath, and Wonwoo’s heart started to ache from anticipation._

_“He’s alive.”_

_Wonwoo’s eyes widened, and he placed a relieved hand on his chest._

_“But he’s not out of the woods yet.”_

_“What do you mean?”_

_“He’s currently in a comatose state. Unfortunately, it’s hard to tell for how long he will be like that. For now, he’s safe, but he could very well fall into the danger zone tomorrow.”_

_There were mixed emotions fighting inside Wonwoo. He was relieved, scared, hopeful, desperate, and guilty. So very guilty. He couldn’t help but think it was because he decided to love someone. Because he decided he at least deserved that. But he was wrong. He found that out today._

 

Wonwoo sighed. He remembered the feelings of guilt so clearly. When Mingyu confessed, it must have triggered it all to come back. He tried to sleep again, hoping to have normal dreams this time. He wanted to forget everything. Forget his feelings of love. Forget the feeling of being loved. It was too much. He curled into a ball under the covers and closed his eyes.

 

Just forget everything.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

When Wonwoo woke up next, it was morning. Or, at least the sun was up. It was actually much later than he thought, and it was sometime in the afternoon. He surprised himself by being able to sleep for so long. He was surprised nothing woke him up. Or no one woke him up. When he left his room to go to the kitchen, he realized why. No one was home besides him.

 

He had gotten used to having company, so the house felt eerily vacant without anyone else there. Even after all those years of living by himself, it was strange being alone again. He found the TV on as he approached the living room, but no one there to watch it. The volume was turned low, but the murmuring of the newscasters bounced off the walls. He turned it off. As the silence welcomed him, every sound he made seemed to be amplified, emphasizing the emptiness. The clatter of dishes seemed so loud as he made himself breakfast. Breakfast for one. As he ate, he let random thoughts float into his head.

 

What was Mingyu doing? Why was he not there?

 

Wonwoo blinked, pausing his chewing. Why did he care? The demon could do whatever he wanted. There was no reason for him to tell Wonwoo of his plans... But he wasn't used to not having the demon by his side, as annoying as he may have gotten. He continued chewing.

 

When was the last time he had been alone like this? When he thought about it, it wasn't actually that long ago, but it felt like he always had company. He had gotten used to it to the point where it was uncomfortable being alone. He paused again.

 

But whose company did he want right now?

 

Wonwoo swallowed. He thought back to his dreams last night, and then Seungcheol. He remembered how devastated he was three years ago when his one love was almost taken from him. He vividly remembered all of his feelings, but thinking back on it now, something was off. What was it? Something wasn't lining up. The feelings he was having now, versus the feelings he had then… Something was different. Something… something… but what?

 

He thought about what triggered the memories in the first place. Mingyu told Wonwoo he loved him. It made him recall his painful past, so he couldn't accept the confession. Besides that, there was another reason why he couldn't accept it. It was because he was in love with Seungcheol.

 

Wonwoo was in love with Seungcheol.

 

He was in love with Seungcheol.

 

He was in love...

 

He... was…

 

Wonwoo stopped eating entirely. He was in love with Seungcheol. He _was_. But now… why wasn't he feeling the same way now? Why... Were his feelings for Seungcheol not there? Why? He loved him for so long? What happened?

 

It couldn't be... _Mingyu_?

 

No, no, no, he was definitely _not_ in love with some childish demon from the underworld. He was sure about that. But, he didn't hate him. That he was also sure about. Then where did his feelings for Mingyu lie in this emotional spectrum? He was annoyed at him for suddenly invading his life, but he was thankful for his thoughtfulness. He wouldn't call them friends. They were just... beings that were bound by something a little more than chance. At first they met because of Wonwoo’s desperation to bring Seungcheol back. Because he was so desperate that he decided to take take someone's word on the Internet on how to summon a demon... but now... what exactly was their relationship?

 

He was suddenly frustrated by his confusion. Why did he think strange things when he was alone? All he had to do was go out for some fresh air, or read a book, or... Hang out with Seungcheol.

 

That's what he should do. He needed to meet Seungcheol to confirm his feelings, or lack of, before he decided to confirm anything crazy. That should have been the first thing he thought of. He dialed Seungcheol’s number, which was on speed dial, and waited for him to pick up.

 

“Hello?”

 

“Cheol, keep me company for today, hmm?”

 

“Today? Oh... uh… today?”

 

“What's wrong? You're always free nowadays. Unless… did you find a job?”

 

“No, uh, that's not it...”

 

“Then?”

 

“Uh…”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Well, you know how _that_ happened yesterday?”

 

“That.”

 

“You know, where that cute kid dragged me away from you?”

 

Wonwoo remembered. The small child that was apparently associated with Mingyu in some way. The small child who showed up out of nowhere to took Seungcheol away.

 

“I remember.”

 

“Yeah, well it’s turned out he wasn’t a kid, so thankfully, I wasn’t a pedo- I mean, yeah, you know who I’m talking about.”

 

Wonwoo furrowed his brows, but Seungcheol couldn’t see it.

 

“What about him?”

 

“No, it's just that... How do I say this… we have… a… meeting today?”

 

“A meeting? You mean… a date.”

 

“No, not a date! Just a... I mean... yeah… I guess”

 

“That's great, congratulations.”

 

“Wonwoo? Are you okay?”

 

“Yeah, no, I'm fine. Have fun. Really. I'm happy for you.”

 

He ended the call right then. He found himself slightly irritated after hearing about Seungcheol’s date, but it wasn't because of the fact that he was going on a date. It was because of the fact that Wonwoo didn't find himself getting jealous. It was because it made him realize for sure, that he fell out of love with Seungcheol somewhere along the way of this mess. He was mad at himself, for dropping his love so easily, after all these years of loving him. He didn’t have to see him to know his feelings. He knew well enough.

 

He laughed at himself. The other day, he lectured Mingyu when he told him he loved him so easily, but Wonwoo was the one taking love too lightly. He was such a hypocrite.

 

Just what was it that Mingyu saw in him?

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

It was late, and there was still no sign of Mingyu. Wonwoo had gone through his day, relaxing in his home, but expected the demon to show up at some time. But he didn’t. Not until long after the sun was down. He heard a weak knock on the door, and somehow he knew it was Mingyu. He opened the door expecting the usual Mingyu, not the sad sight that was now in front of him.

 

It was definitely Mingyu, but at the same time it wasn’t like him at all. The proud shoulders he usually had were drooped, and his wings weren’t even folded up. They were dragging across the floor, having gathered dirt and dust. His eyes were abnormally red because they were bloodshot. It looked like he didn’t have the will to live. Somehow, he reminded Wonwoo of himself all those years ago.

 

Wonwoo made way for Mingyu to come in, but it took the demon a few seconds to register that he had done so. Why was Mingyu like this? What happened?

 

He waited until the demon entered the house and settled down on the couch before closing the door to follow him. He felt the need to be extremely cautious, so he kept a bit of a distance.

 

“M-mingyu?”

 

The demon didn’t respond. Instead he pulled something out of his pocket. It looked like a phone strap, judging by the string looping out of it. Mingyu was holding it tightly, so Wonwoo couldn’t see it very well. He was rubbing it with his thumb, and all Wonwoo could see was that it was white.

 

“What’s that?”

 

Mingyu slowly unwrapped his fingers from the object, revealing a small bunny. He looked at it grievously.

 

“It’s… T-tosun…”

 

“Tosun?”

 

The demon’s fingers wrapped around it once again, and he clasped his hands together, gripping so strongly onto the delicate bunny, as if it would escape if he held onto it any looser. His head hung low, and Wonwoo saw a tear drip down. He could feel his heart tugging because of the broken demon. It hurt to see Mingyu in so much pain. Wonwoo slowly walked closer to him and reached to pat his shoulder.

 

“Do you want to talk about it?”

 

“...”

 

Wonwoo started rubbing the demon’s shoulder gently.

 

“That’s fine. You don’t have to. Just… know that I’m here, okay?”

 

The demon sighed.

 

“It’s all my fault.”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“Everything… is my fault…”

 

Wonwoo sat down next to the demon, bringing his hand to his lower back, still rubbing. It was a bit difficult with the wings in the way, but it didn’t stop him. His eyebrows knit together from worry.

 

“Don’t say that. I’m sure that’s not true. Do you want to tell me what happened?”

 

“It _is_ my fault. It’s all my fault. I killed him. It was my fault.”

 

Wonwoo tensed at the words. What exactly did he mean? Who was killed? Why? He could already tell that this was much more serious than he initially thought it would be, and he wasn’t sure it was a good idea to dig into it. However, curiosity got the best of him.

 

“Mingyu… what happened?”

 

“I killed him... I killed him…”

 

“Mingyu.”

 

“It’s my fault... I’m so sorry…”

 

Wonwoo draped his arms around Mingyu and pulled him in for a tight embrace. The demon stopped muttering and buried his head in Wonwoo’s chest, crying silently. Whatever it was that happened, Mingyu wasn’t mentally well, and he needed someone’s support. Wonwoo wasn’t going to just leave him alone until he was stable again. He stroked the demon’s head in a comforting manner, lacing his fingers through the locks of hair. He squeezed his eyes shut as he held the demon tighter.

 

The two stayed in this position for a long time. Mingyu calmed down and pulled himself away. Wonwoo wanted to know what it was that made the demon like this, but he wasn’t going to push him for answers. If Mingyu didn’t want to discuss it, he would drop the topic. But he at least wanted to ask one more time.

 

“Mingyu… do you mind telling me what happened?”

 

The demon looked at him sadly, then back down at the bunny phone charm.

 

“Hansol,” he said.

 

“Hansol? I thought you said it was Tosun?”

 

“Hansol was the name of the human who gave me this…”

 

Human? Mingyu was crying over a human?

 

“So this Hansol… he is…”

 

“My best friend. He was my best friend.”

 

Wonwoo swallowed. Something about this was uncomfortably familiar. He adjusted his position slightly.

 

“He… was?”

 

“He was… but now he’s gone… I’ve killed him.”

 

The words were alarmingly disturbing, but Wonwoo decided to ignore the feeling. By now, he had to know.

 

“Tell me… Tell me about Hansol.”

 

The demon squeezed the phone charm once again. He sighed before proceeding to tell him the story of how they had met. How Hansol taught him about the human world, and how he wasn’t afraid of Mingyu in the slightest. He told him how Hansol gave him constant advice, and comforted him when he was down. He told him how Hansol was always there for him when he needed him. He told him how Hansol was always grateful to have Mingyu around, when it was Mingyu who should have been grateful for _him._

 

Wonwoo listened, not once interrupting. He let Mingyu take pauses when he needed to, and didn’t rush him when he started getting choked up. Then, Mingyu told him about what happened earlier that day.

 

“He wanted to celebrate my birthday.”

 

Wonwoo’s finger twitched. He was never fond of birthdays, but no one could blame him after what happened on his. He stayed silent, waiting for Mingyu to continue.

 

“He was waiting for me when an earthquake came. A building collapsed on him.”

 

Wonwoo started feeling himself getting cold. He had nightmares last night, reliving his traumatic past, but at this moment, he felt the trauma more intensely. It was a distressing feeling of deja vu.

 

“I couldn’t save him.”

 

Taking deep breaths, Wonwoo calmed himself down. He breathed in, then breathed out. He closed his eyes and took another breath.

 

Mingyu was finished with his story, and Wonwoo finally spoke.

 

“I…  I know how you feel, but it wasn’t your fault.”

 

“It was.”

 

“No one can predict an earthquake, Mingyu. You can’t convince yourself that this was your fault.”

 

“But it was.”

 

“No, Mingyu.”

 

“You don’t understand.”

 

“Mingyu! It wasn’t your fault!”

 

Mingyu chuckled bitterly. He stood up from the couch.

 

“Sorry, but I don’t want to hear that from you.”

 

Wonwoo stood up as well, irked at the sudden change in attitude.

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

 

“Why are you trying to convince me that this isn’t my fault? You of all people? You!”

 

“What about me?”

 

The demon chuckled again, but his expression was angry.

 

“Don’t try to tell I didn’t kill Hansol. I know what _I_ did. But you... don’t tell me it’s not my fault when you are so thoroughly convinced that _you_ caused the death of _your_ best friend.

 

Wonwoo froze. He suddenly realized that Mingyu was referring to his past, but how did he know? When did he find out? How long has he been hiding this? He wasn’t supposed to know. No one was. But he did. Wonwoo felt hot rage and confusion build up inside him. He stepped back, furious. He never intended for _anyone_ to find out about it.

 

“How the HELL do you know that? I don’t remember telling you, and I sure as HELL didn’t give you permission to check up on my past like that!”

 

This time, it was Mingyu’s turn to freeze. From the heat of the moment, he blurted out something he didn’t mean to, but it was too late. The words were out in the open. He seemed perplexed for a moment, trying to figure out a way to justify himself.

 

“Wait, no, that’s not-”

 

“No! Don’t give me your excuses! You can’t just dig into my privacy like that! What made you think that would be okay?”

 

“Let me explain-”

 

“You know what? Who even gave you permission to invade my life in the first place, huh? Who gave you the right to just waltz into my life like you did? WHO GAVE YOU THE RIGHT?”

 

Wonwoo couldn’t control his words anymore. The anger was taking over his mind and body. He knew he shouldn’t have been getting angry, but he couldn’t stop it from coming. His mouth wasn’t communicating with his mind.

 

“Wonwoo, wait-”

 

“No! Get out! I’m SICK and TIRED of you, Mingyu! You turned my life upside down for NO good reason. I never asked for this! All I wanted was to bring Seungcheol back. I didn’t want YOU in my life! Just do me a favor and leave.”

 

“Wonwoo-”

 

“LEAVE, NOW! And DON’T come back!”

 

Wonwoo pointed angrily at the door, to emphasize that he wanted Mingyu gone. He was out of breath from shouting, and his eyes were wide with rage. He glared at Mingyu, who looked too shocked to respond. Wonwoo didn’t move from his spot.

 

Mingyu did.

 

He slowly made his way to the door, but before opening it, he said his last words to Wonwoo. “I’m sorry I ruined your life too…”

 

He left, not once looking back at Wonwoo. When the door clicked closed, the tension that built up inside Wonwoo’s body was released. He crumbled to the floor, regretting what he had done.

 

He didn’t fully mean the words he said, but he was just so angry that the demon somehow found out about his childhood nightmares. The history that was too painful to share. He clamped his hand in his hair, because that wasn’t the only reason he regretted it. The demon had just lost a friend… He was probably in a much worse state of mind than Wonwoo was… but Wonwoo had to go ahead and kick him out anyways. Because Wonwoo was an awful person who couldn’t let go of his past. Because he was an awful person who decided to hurt the demon when he was already hurting.

 

All because he couldn’t let go.

 

Wonwoo looked out the window. He could see the silver moonlight peeking through the dark curtain of the night sky. He thought about how he suffered all this time, and that nothing would change the past. It didn’t matter what Wonwoo felt. What happened then was out of his control, even if he tried to persuade himself otherwise. Mingyu was right that Wonwoo was being a hypocrite. Wonwoo wholeheartedly believed that the demon was not at fault, but for some reason, he was never able to give himself the same comforting words for his own circumstances. Truthfully, he knew deep down that it was all just an unfortunate accident. Just really bad timing. He always blamed himself for it, but doing so wouldn’t ever bring them back, even if it was true. The crescent shaped of the moon became distorted as tears began to fill his eyes.

  
Maybe… it was time for Wonwoo to finally forgive himself.


	14. Finding His Heart

Wonwoo got very little sleep that night, but it didn’t have to do with nightmares. He had to do a lot of thinking after his argument with Mingyu. Once the demon left, Wonwoo dragged himself to his bedroom but didn’t lie down to sleep. He sat on the edge of his bed, just thinking. Thinking about what he just experienced, and how he felt about it. There was no doubt that the guilt from his childhood affected him even to this day. He knew that it was the reason he seldom reached out for people. It was the reason he always chose to always be alone, despite the fact that he hated being by himself. It was the reason he never relied on other people if he could help it.

 

That night, when he saw the very shaken demon, he realized that he was seeing himself when he was a child. Through some unfortunate coincidence, the demon suffered the exact same fate he had, but that also allowed Wonwoo to see the situation from a different view. It was the one good thing that could have possibly come out of such a tragedy. He was able to see that no one would have put any of the blame of the accident on Wonwoo. And in fact, no one ever did, and it took him much too long to have realized it.

 

But the important thing was that he realized it.

 

As he was having his late night thoughts, he stayed awake, hoping that Mingyu would come back so he could apologize. He stayed seated where he was, staring at the wall, tapping his fingers on his leg out of impatience. Even though he didn’t expect the demon to come back that night, he waited. He waited until his heavy eyelids couldn’t keep themselves open, and some time after 4 am, he was fast asleep.

 

Unfortunately, he had to wake up soon after in order to get to work on time. While he was working, he couldn’t focus because of his lack of sleep and his nagging worry for Mingyu. The day went by so slowly he thought it would never end. It almost surprised him that it did. When he went home, he half-expected to see a stubborn demon waiting on his doorstep, but he saw no such sight. He thought that maybe the demon needed some time before he came back, so he waited.

 

But Mingyu never returned.

 

Not the next day.

 

Not ever.

 

The first night he was alone, Wonwoo just told himself that Mingyu was still mad at him. He would come back eventually when he calmed down. He was still worried, but he brushed off the feeling.

 

The third night, he wondered if the demon found another human to stay with. He wondered if the demon didn’t want to see Wonwoo anymore.

 

The fifth night, he wondered if there was a reason to think Mingyu wasn’t okay, and that something might have happened to him.. Anxiety started to bubble inside him, and he prayed to the god he didn’t believe in to ask that Mingyu be safe. Wonwoo skipped work that day.

 

The seventh night, he started leaving the door unlocked, in case the demon wanted to come in, but somehow couldn’t. He found a fallen feather of Mingyu’s in his living room, and placed it on his bedside table, as if trying to convince himself that as long as the feather was okay, so was the demon.

 

The ninth night, he called Seungcheol to ask if he had seen him, and when Seungcheol said he hadn’t, Wonwoo couldn’t sleep. He wasn’t able to brush off the worry anymore.

 

The eleventh night, he had a sip of alcohol, despite the fact that he never once tried it due to his hatred for how it took away his family. After being disgusted by the taste, he stopped drinking.

 

The thirteenth night, he drank two whole bottles of soju.

 

The fifteenth night, Seungcheol had to drag Wonwoo out of his house after he was cooped up in there for so long, waiting. He resisted, but Seungcheol was triumphant in getting him out for a breather. It helped him clear his thoughts a bit.

 

By the seventeenth night, Wonwoo acknowledged the fact that Mingyu wasn’t ever going to return. His heart turned heavy, but he fully accepted its weight.

 

The demon wasn’t coming back, and Wonwoo was going to have to move on.

 

It was this night that Wonwoo had another round of deep thoughts. With Mingyu not coming back, there was not much he could do. He realized he had no way of contacting him, and the demon showed no signs of returning. If he didn’t see Mingyu again, he had no way of apologizing for what he did, but he couldn’t keep ahold of this guilt forever. Guilt was what obstructed him from enjoying his life until now, and he wasn’t going to continue to have it be that way. If Mingyu wasn’t going to come back, he would have to apologize in a different manner than just saying the words to his face. If he couldn’t see him again, the best way to apologize was for him to change.

 

Wonwoo picked up the feather that was residing on his bedside table. He brought it close to his face and turned it around, carefully observing it. It was a beautifully glossy, pitch-black feather, extremely soft to the touch. For having such a firm personality, the demon carried such beautiful and delicate feathers. It was a wonder Wonwoo never noticed until now, even though he had spent so much time with him. He smiled sadly at the feather.

 

“Hey Mingyu, I’m sorry I won’t be able to say this to your face, but I’m sorry for everything. You were right, and I was wrong. Very wrong... “

 

He stroked the feather lightly.

 

“I wonder what you would say to that.”

 

He lifted it up and watched at the light shone through the fine gaps of the feather’s combs.

 

“I guess I will never know, huh?”

 

He set the feather back down.

 

“Goodnight, Mingyu. Wherever you are.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

_Four months later_

 

“Intern Lee Chan!”

 

“Yes, team leader Jeon?”

 

A bright, young male stood up from his desk eagerly when he was called. He looked at Wonwoo with expectancy, his eyes wide, and a smile on his face.

 

Wonwoo smiled gently as he lifted a folder from his desk.

 

“Bring me two copies of this, will you?”

 

“Yes, sir!”

 

The boy bowed as he took the file with both hands and cheerfully walked toward the copy room. Right before he disappeared from Wonwoo’s view, he turned around and playfully winked and shrugged his shoulders before sprinting off.

 

Wonwoo chuckled softly to himself.

 

“What a cute kid.”

 

He returned to the computer in front of him, but his attention was soon turned to a man who entered the room. when he recognized the man’s face, he stood up quickly and bowed. He looked up again to see the man smiling fondly at him.

 

“Director Park, what are you doing here?”

 

“Don’t worry Jeon, nothing’s wrong. I just wanted to invite you for a company dinner. I heard you’ve been attending them recently.”

 

“Oh, I’m sorry sir, but I’m going to have to decline your generous offer. I have plans to meet with an important person tonight.”

 

The director flashed a fatherly smile.

 

“Oh, is that so? Well, there’s always next time. Keep up the good work, Jeon. We are really lucky to have you.”

 

“Your words are too kind, sir.”

 

Wonwoo bowed politely as the man walked out, then returned to working. He looked at his watch, counting the hours he had until work was over.

 

He sighed as he pulled out his wallet. He opened it and took out a familiar black feather, now thoroughly worn down, but still as lustrous as ever.

 

“You see that, Mingyu? He praised me. After all this time I’ve worked here, he finally praised me. How’s that? Have I changed enough for you to forgive me?”

 

He twirled the feather around as a small frown formed on his face.

 

“Have I changed enough for you to come back?”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Wonwoo looked around the street, trying to locate the restaurant they were supposed to meet in. With his suit jacket slung around his arm, and his tie loosened, he walked down the road. He thought about changing, but it was a bit of a special occasion, so he didn’t.

 

He looked down at his phone to see his location app, which indicated he was in the right area. He looked at the bright signs protruding from the building's walls, and finally spotted the restaurant he was looking for. It had the smallest and dullest sign, but it was supposedly a nice place to dine.

 

He walked in, looking for the man he was supposed to meet, but a voice found him first.

 

“Wonwoo! Over here!”

 

Wonwoo snapped his head in the direction of the voice and smiled, walking over to the table and sitting down. Once seated, he grabbed a small box out of his pant pocket and placed it down on the table in front of the man.

 

“Happy birthday, Cheol,” he said affectionately.

 

Seungcheol looked at him with gratitude.

 

“Thanks, Wonwoo. I really appreciate it... Not just the gift, I mean.”

 

Wonwoo understood. It was the first time he agreed to celebrate Seungcheol’s birthday with him. Before, he didn’t just ignore his own birthday, but he ignored everyone else’s as well. He pretended like they didn’t exist, since he never found a reason to be happy about being born. Now, with his past behind him, he was more open to doing a lot of things, and celebrating such occasion was one of them.

 

“I know. Sorry you’ve waited so long for this.”

 

“No, no you had your reasons. All that matters is that we’re here now, right?”

 

“Yeah. You’re right.”

 

“But still, I can’t believe you actually accepted my invitation. I almost wasn’t going to ask. Do you know how surprised I was?”

 

Wonwoo laughed.

 

“I can imagine.”

 

Seungcheol picked up the box.

 

“Can I?”

 

Wonwoo nodded.

 

“It’s all yours.”

 

He carefully opened the box, revealing a shining, thick-banded silver ring. He immediately tried it on his right index finger, but when it didn’t fit, he tried his other fingers until he found that it was a perfect match for his pinky. A large smile formed on his face as he looked at the ring on his finger.

 

“Thanks, Wonwoo. I really like it.”

 

Wonwoo reached over and held out his hand.

 

“Oh, sorry, I got the wrong size. I guess it wasn’t a good idea to use my own fingers as reference… here, give it back. I’ll get you a new one.”

 

Seungcheol clasped his left hand over the ring and brought it close to his chest.

 

“No, I want this one! It’s the one you chose out for me.”

 

After some consideration, Wonwoo retracted his hand back. If Seungcheol liked it, it was all that mattered.

 

“If you say so.”

 

There was a pause. Seungcheol looked around before speaking.

 

“Say... Wonwoo?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“You know… um… Mingyu?”

 

Wonwoo slammed his hands on the table, and his eyes widened as he leaned towards Seungcheol.

 

“Do you know where he is?” he almost shouted.

 

Seungcheol leaned back from surprise. He looked around again to see if anyone was disturbed by Wonwoo’s sudden loudness, but no one seemed to notice. He looked back at Wonwoo.

 

“No, that’s not it… sorry”

 

Wonwoo sighed, letting his hands drop from the table. He sat straight up again, relaxing his shoulders that tensed just then.

 

“What about him?”

 

“Uh, well, uh…”

 

“Hmmm?”

 

“You know… Jihoon?”

 

Jihoon, the small boy who was actually older than he was? Wonwoo knew him. Seungcheol often spoke of him… but why was he bringing him up?

 

“Of course I do. Why?”

 

“It…” Seungcheol seemed slightly uncomfortable. He played with the straw in his drink. “It turns out he… he’s like Mingyu.”

 

“He’s like Mingyu.”

 

“You know…”

 

Wonwoo squinted, trying to figure out what he meant. Seungcheol leaned toward his drink and bit his straw.

 

“Are you trying to say… he’s a demon?”

 

Seungcheol nodded, the straw still in his mouth.

 

Wonwoo raised his eyebrows. “Really?”

 

Seungcheol sat back up.

 

“Why don’t you sound more surprised?”

 

“Well, I knew he was associated with Mingyu somehow, but... I just assumed he was human.”

 

“Oh, well… I guess nothing surprises you much anymore. But anyways, I just wanted say sorry. I was a bit mean to Mingyu, but now that I know more about demons, I realized that… they’re not that bad.”

 

Wonwoo chuckled. “It’s a bit too late to apologize, don’t you think?”

 

“Yeah. And I know you’ve been looking for him and all, but... have you ever tried calling him?”

 

“I... didn’t think he had a phone?”

 

He recalled the Tosun, the bunny charm Mingyu was holding onto that fated night.

 

“No wait… I remember he had a phone charm… but there was no phone attached… Unless he did have one?”

 

“What? He _did_ have a phone though. I’m sure of it. I saw him use it once... But that’s not what I meant.”

 

“Then what did you mean?”

 

“Ever since I found out about Jihoon, he’s told me some stuff. About demons and contracts and everything. He told me a human in a contract can summon their bound demon.”

 

“WHAT?”

 

Seungcheol put his index finger on his lips, once again looking around to make sure they didn’t disturb other customers.

 

“Shh, calm down for a second. We don’t want to get kicked out.”

 

“What do you mean I can summon him? Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

 

“Well I found out not that long ago-”

 

“But how do I do it? Tell me, how do I summon him?”

 

Seungcheol cleared his throat.

 

“He said that Mingyu should have told you how to do it, but apparently it must have slipped his mind. So basically, you have to concentrate, and if you close your eyes and put your hand over your chest, you’re supposed to be able to feel something. I don’t know what that something is, but you have to focus on it and then call his name. Sounds simple, right? At least, that’s what Jihoon- wait, Wonwoo, where are you going?”

 

Wonwoo picked up his suit jacket and placed several bills on the table.

 

“Sorry, Seungcheol. I have to go. Sorry I didn’t get stay with you longer but… I have to go.”

 

He bolted out of the restaurant and just ran. He didn’t know where he was running, but he had to go somewhere that wasn’t so crowded. He passed the buildings with bright signs and started heading for the darker neighborhoods. When he found a peaceful park, he slowed down. It seemed like the right place to go. He discarded his belongings by a tree and walked to the middle of the park. He closed his eyes and put his hands to his chest.

 

He didn’t feel anything.

 

His mind was a jumbled mess, which probably didn’t help. He let out a frustrated sigh. He was rushing this.

 

_Take a deep breath. In, and out. Take another._

 

Wonwoo found himself relaxing. The noises from the streets were dying down, and his sense of touch seemed to be amplified. He felt the slight wind barely brushing against his skin.

 

_Concentrate, Wonwoo._

 

He did. He focused on nothing in particular, but he focused. He felt his heartbeat slowing down, and his breaths becoming less sporadic.

 

All of a sudden, he felt it. He didn’t know how to describe the sensation except that it was similar to what he felt when he first sealed the contract with Mingyu. It was almost like a light fire, but it was tugging somewhere deep inside of him. His soul, perhaps. It was barely there, but at the same time its presence was firm. Before he lost focus, he said the demon’s name in a soft voice that was almost a whisper.

 

“Mingyu.”

 

The small fire seemed to ignite into a large flame, but it didn’t burn him. There was a strong, yet gentle heat that came from it. He slowly opened his eyes, and the wind picked up speed, rustling his hair and clothes. He could see a glowing, golden red summoning circle in front of him. His heart beat started to accelerate, even though it was slowing down just before. He held his breath in anticipation.

 

Then, the demon appeared in front of him. The demon he had been waiting for for so long. The demon he owed so much to. The demon he needed to apologize to. He was there, in front of him, and it wasn’t a dream. He was there, so very different than when Wonwoo last saw him. He stood tall again, the shine having returned to his eyes, and his shoulders nice and proud. Just as Wonwoo was hoping for all this time.

 

The feeling was overwhelming. So much so that he started crying. The demon looked shocked and hurried to Wonwoo’s side, trying to wipe away the tears as quickly as possible. He had an expression of worry and panic as he tried to calm the boy down.

 

“W-what’s wrong, Wonwoo? Why are you crying? Who did this to you?”

 

Wonwoo weakly punched the demon’s chest.

 

“Why didn’t you come back? Why?”

 

Mingyu paused before he removed his hands from Wonwoo’s face and took a step back. He suddenly looked dejected.

 

“You… you said you didn’t want me to come back…”  
  
“Of all the times I told you to do something, why would you choose to listen to that?”

 

“I-I thought-”

 

“I waited so long for you! I waited and waited but you never came back!”

 

The demon was taken aback by the sudden yelling.

 

“I… I didn’t know…”

 

Wonwoo lowered his head to wipe away his own tears.  
  
“Stupid demon…”

 

There was a moment’s pause before the demon spoke again.

 

“But you summoned me just now… if you wanted to see me, why didn’t you do that earlier?”

 

Wonwoo glared at the demon, angry at the demon’s ignorance.

 

“You never told me I could! I found out because of Jihoon! You should have told me about it when you made a contract with me... ”

 

The demon furrowed his eyebrows.

 

“I never… oh…”

 

Wonwoo stepped forward to smack the demon’s chest again.

 

“Stupid demon.”

 

Mingyu looked closely at the boy’s face. He put his hand on Wonwoo’s chin and lifted his head, still showing signs of concern.

 

“But... why are you crying?”

 

Wonwoo’s tears stopped immediately from the sudden shock. Mingyu had a good point. Why was he crying? All he wanted to do was apologize to the demon, so why the tears?

 

He pushed the demon’s hand away and stepped back. There was no reason. He just wanted to see the demon again, and he finally did. It was just so sudden, that…

 

_Wait._

 

He wanted to see the demon again. He didn’t just want to apologize. He wanted to see Mingyu. He wanted to see Mingyu look proud of Wonwoo for getting over his past. He wanted to show the demon that he improved himself. He wanted to interact with the demon. It was just that he missed the demon.

 

That was it. He missed Mingyu.

 

No, that wasn’t all. He loved Mingyu. Of course, why didn’t he realize it before? He missed the demon because he loved him. There was no reason for him to cry otherwise.

 

_Ah, so that’s what it was._

 

That was why Wonwoo tried so hard to improve himself, even though Mingyu wouldn’t be there to witness it. That was why he always thought of Mingyu before he went to sleep. He wasn’t just worried. He missed him. That was why he kept a memento of the demon with him. It wasn’t just guilt. It was love.

 

The tears started running down again. Mingyu was about to wipe the tears once again, but Wonwoo looked up and told him something that was too shocking for him to bear.

 

“I’m crying because I love you.”

 

Mingyu froze. He looked down wide-eyed at the crying boy, but couldn’t say any words. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Wonwoo was looking up with expectancy.

 

“Mingyu?”

 

Wonwoo could see the demon turning red, still in a state of confusion.

 

“Mingyu, our contract… it’s still valid, right?”

 

Mingyu could only nod. The rest of his body refused to move.

 

“Then, can I ask that you love me?”

 

Mingyu snapped out of his state of shock and harshly wrapped his arms around Wonwoo to bring him in for a tight embrace. It was so tight that Wonwoo could feel that Mingyu’s heartbeat beating just as rapidly as his. Wonwoo answered to the hug, bringing his arms around Mingyu. They stayed like that for a long moment.

 

“Mingyu?”

 

“I never stopped loving you, Wonwoo. Not once did my feelings disappear.”

 

Wonwoo buried his face in Mingyu’s shoulder, embarrassed for what he was about to say next.

 

“You said our contract was still valid, right?”

 

“Of course it is.”

 

“Then… can I wish that you stay by my side?”

 

Mingyu pulled away from the hug. He placed his hands around Wonwoo’s face and looked into his eyes. Wonwoo was once again mesmerized by the beauty of the demon’s dynamically colorful eyes, but his attention was quickly brought to Mingyu when he leaned in. Just before their lips touched, the demon smirked as he replied to the question.

  
“As you wish.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello hello~
> 
> Thank you for reading this to the end  
> I hope you enjoyed it, and just to make sure my ideas came across, I wanted to explain some stuff about the characters. I'll just be copying and pasting the author's note I had on AFF:
> 
> First, Hansol. He was a majorly important character, and I'm sure you all realized that. He was the one to teach Mingyu about the human world, but more importantly, he taught him the meaning of friendship. He was the one to change Mingyu from a stubborn, self-centered demon, to a more understanding one. Without him, he would never have been able to fully understand Wonwoo, or himself. Without him, Wonwoo wouldn't have been able to change. He was really the key character of the story, and I'm sorry but I had to do the deed (my one friend will never forgive me though).
> 
> Second, Wonwoo. He was the one who taught Mingyu to love. He seemed really cold, and he was, but when you see things from his point of view, he isn't as heartless as he may seem from the outside (I hope I was able to portray that). I don't really have much to say about him. He was just really unfortunate but didn't have the right person to assure him that it was okay. As much as Seungcheol has done for him, he's kind of thick headed? Seungcheol was able to give him support, but he wasn't able to give him what he needed. He wasn't able to make Wonwoo understand that he was the victim, and he wasn't able to make Wonwoo feel loved. Mingyu was, and that's why he eventually fell for him.
> 
> Thanks again for reading my story~


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